Bellringer
by LegionOfMisfits
Summary: Four years after an event that changed her life, Yang Xiao-Long passes her time in all the worst ways. But a timely arrival of an old friend and the reemergence of an old enemy might be just what it takes to get this blonde bruiser back on her feet. Based on characters by Monty Oum. Rated M for violence, language and sexual situations.
1. First Rule

**The First Rule**

**a LegionOfMisfits / Al_Hats collabfic**

**Chapter 1**

* * *

_Left foot forward._

Bright lights.

_Right foot back._

A cheering crowd.

_Shoulders tight._

A hundred smells.

_Neck relaxed._

Sweat, booze and stale cigar smoke.

_Good God, is he staring at my boobs?_

Her fist struck out like a serpent from beneath a stone, wrapped-knuckles parting the air like a tank in a traffic jam and slamming into her opponent's nose. Before he could even recoil from the punch, she put her weight onto her left foot and swung hard with her right, putting the full weight of her back and shoulders behind the cross. Her distracted and already-stunned opponent took the blow like a champ, and found himself on his ass before he fully registered what had happened.

He struggled to get back on his feet, sweat cascading down his forehead when he caught a flash of gold and felt another stab of pain beneath his jaw. He flew back, sliding slightly over the sweat-stained ring floor and coming to rest a few inches from the ropes. His abuser tore off a piece of her tape and used it to mop his blood off her knee, tossing aside the improvised rag and waiting for retaliation that never came.

The opponent scooted his way painfully out of the ring and Yang Xiao-Long revelled in her victory. A drunken man in the stands was cheering so energetically that he spilled his beer all over the spectator next to him, and within moments there was another brawl in the stands to replace the one that had just ended on the floor.

A bookie came forward, grin splitting his face as he clapped Yang on the shoulder and led her off the mat.

"That was fucking poetry," he exclaimed giddily. "Gorgeous. Goddamned beautiful." The two made their way through a back hallway that reeked of blood and sweat to a blue door in an otherwise plain and unadorned wall. Inside, the bookie attempted to make the place a bit homelier by covering the concrete floor with a crusty old carpet and lining the walls with posters of fights from before Yang was born. He sat behind a rickety metal desk and steepled his fingers, eyes still wide from the adrenaline high he was riding. A well-muscled man in a grey sweatshirt stood by the door and nodded appreciatively when Yang shot him a glance, though whether the gesture came from her fighting performance or the low-cut of her shirt she couldn't tell.

Gideon reached into his desk, withdrawing a pair of dusty tumblers and an even dustier bottle of bourbon. By the looks of it, he had been saving that hooch from the days when those fights on the walls had actually taken place. The zealous gambler blew the age off the bottle and struggled for a moment to undo the stopper before popping the top, splashing a few drops of liquor on his nice jacket, and pouring a finger of the amber fire for himself and the prize fighter before him.

"I'm not even joking Yang," he said as he downed his whiskey in a single gulp. "That was glorious. Fucker never even saw it coming!" He coughed slightly as the alcohol hit his stomach and Yang awkwardly poured a bit of the old liquor onto the floor when he wasn't looking. When Gideon recovered, the bookie looked cheerier than ever.

"Yang, I know I've said it a thousand times, but you have a _gift._ If you put it to use in a real fight, you and I could be the richest bitches in Vale, don't you understand? Lloyd," he called to the bouncer. "Go get the box from Fleur at the front desk; show our prized lady here how much we hauled off these dumb saps tonight!"

The beefy man obeyed and after he had left Gideon shifted his gaze back to Yang. "I know you've said before that you don't care about the money, but you need to think about the big picture here, Yang. In two years you and I could be flying private airships out to Vacuo every weekend; doing nothing but sitting in the sun and getting shitfaced. And don't pretend you don't enjoy it; that's the whole reason you fight, isn't it? The thrills? Why not make something real out of it, and help out your old buddy Gideon in the process?"

Yang had been silent up to this point, surreptitiously getting rid of as much of the ancient bourbon as she could without Gideon's noticing, but as his gaze fixated on her she took a hesitant sip of the liquor. It tasted like dust and fire. Like someone lit up an antiques shop. She resisted the urge to spit up the cheap booze but forced a smile for Gideon.

"Look, G… I know that you're all about the haul, but it's like you said. I don't need the money. Just give me a poor loser to rough up and a crowd to do it in front of and I-"

"Hold that thought, Yang," he interrupted as Lloyd reentered the room, carrying a wooden lockbox. He set the container on Gideon's desk and watched from his perch by the door as the bookie rifled through its contents. Colored lien notes flew like feathers from a plucked hen and the grin on his face grew to stupid proportions as he showed off the haul.

"You see this?" he asked. "This is what you do best! People see you and they don't know any better than to bet on the other guy. They think you're just some dumb broad who decided to wrap her hands up in tape and pick a fight. And then _wham!_ You pull shit like you did out there tonight! People are practically giving their money away for small shit like this, can you imagine what a performance like that would net us in a ranked match? In a prize bout?"

Yang shook her head. "I can imagine, but I don't want to. Gideon, we've had this conversation a dozen times. I'm not going to fight pro. Period. Now can you just give me my share so I can go get fucked up at the bar and head home?"

Gideon's face darkened like a thundercloud. He sighed as he sorted out Yang's share of the take. "One of these days Yang you're gonna have to make a choice whether or not you want to do something with you talent. And unless you make up your mind soon, you're going to miss out on a lot of opportunities."

Yang snatched the colored papers from his hand and smiled. She blew Lloyd a kiss on her way out the door and smiled at the thought of her second favorite activity.

The bar was loud, smelled gross and served the cheapest, grungiest booze in Vale. It. Was. Glorious. Yang hooted like a sports fan as she slammed another glass rim-down against the stained hardwood. "I don't even know what the fuck was in that one," she proclaimed. "But give me another!" The other patrons cheered as the bartender shook his head and poured another ounce of the clear liquor before sliding it back to Yang. She knocked it back just like the first, feeling the burning rush of the alcohol as it raced through her system. The booze hit her gut like a nuke and she nearly doubled over before brushing her hair out of her face and grinning like a madman.

Another chorus of cheers rose from the bar and Yang sat back, taking a moment before swallowing another shot of liquid courage.

This was the life. Sleep all day, fight and drink all night. Oh if only Dad could see her now. The alcohol clouded her mind and she didn't feel the pain. It didn't even register on her senses the way it used to. Four years and a lifetime's worth of fighting and getting plastered would do that to you.

And even as she thought about how little it affected her, the memories washed over her like a wave. There was a guy in the corner wearing a black hoody. Nothing unusual in a place like this but... Black. Black. Oh Jesus _fuck_ why does it have to be black? She smelled something to. Subtle, underneath the acrid reek of the bar - it was pleasant - too pretty to belong in a place like this. Sickly-sweet. She knew what it was, and it drove her mad. This place was too loud. Too hot. She needed air.

Pushing her way to the door, she stumbled out into the night and retched. The fruits of her hard-won evening filled the gutter and she coughed repeatedly as she pushed her hair out of the way of the torrent of regrets. Her throat burned. Her eyes were watering. Was that the memories or the smoke? She didn't care. She straightened up as quickly as she dared, panting like a dog. She sniffed and blinked several times, her eyes becoming accustomed to the predawn gloom. Was it really so early into the morning already? Time flies when you're wasting your life.

Then, the voice. "You just about finished? Because I'm not going to bother talking to you if you're gonna throw up on my shoes."

She turned toward the source of the sound and saw him standing underneath the streetlight. It was an image that would stay with her a while. He stepped forward, offering a hand to steady her. She took it and felt a rush of vertigo, nearly losing herself again before regaining composure. She looked up and saw that, through his stupid, goofy grin, he was worried.

Sun Wukong smiled sincerely. "Better? Good. We need to talk."

* * *

Sun's apartment was the perfect setting for a murder. Or a porno. Didn't matter. Yang fell gratefully onto a great red couch as Sun threw open a set of wide windows at the far end of the room. He disappeared into a small kitchen that adjoined the living room and set about rifling through cupboards. He emerged a moment later with a teacup full of a cloudy, pale liquid. "Drink up," he commanded as he shoved the cup into Yang's hands.

He didn't need to convince her. She was thirstier than a collegiate on Spring Break, and downed the entire thing in a single gulp. She nearly gagged at the horrendous sweetness of the stuff. "Bananas," she coughed. "Way to embrace those stereotypes, fuckboy. What did I just pour down my throat?"

"Little concoction of mine that helps when I don't want to wake up feeling like I spent the night driving railroad spikes with my forehead. Trust me, you'll thank me later." Sun fell into a ratty armchair across the coffee table from her and threw his feet up, sighing as he reclined.

"So..." Yang said, breaking into an awkwardly lengthy silence with all the gusto of a cow about to be butchered. "What did you want to talk about?"

Sun feigned indecision. "Gee, I dunno. The weather's been alright, there's a new Spruce Willis movie coming out next Friday... Oh! I know! How about we talk about _where the fuck you've been for the past four months?_"

His outburst left her head ringing and she pressed a palm against her temple as she waited for the noise and pain to subside. Sun rubbed his forehead and screwed his eyes shut. "It's just... Things aren't the same, y'know? I mean, we've all gone our separate ways, obviously. Neptune is in Atlas kissing ass with the SDC, Sun and Scarlett are back home in Mistral, Jaune and the gang are out on assignment, Ruby is-"

"Don't," Yang croaked. Despite the shakiness of her speech, her tone was ironclad. "Don't. Just..."

"Don't?" he offered. She shot him a venomous glance.

He sighed. "You know this isn't healthy." Her gaze was corrosive enough to turn a girder into a puddle.

"Gee, you think? People don't get hammered and break jaws because it's good for their hearts, Sun! They do it... because they're trying to forget." She slumped even further into the couch, suddenly feeling a wave of fatigue wash over her. One that seemed to stretch back much longer than a single regretful night. "I'm... trying to forget." Sun was quiet.

"Don't forget," he said quietly. "If you forget, you'll never learn." She rounded on him, eyes shimmering crimson.

"Don't forget? Don't forget?! Can you get these fucking thoughts out of my head? Because unless you can, don't tell me to stop! This is the only way I know how to make it through! I don't do it out of any want, I do it so I can _fucking sleep_! You don't have any idea, do you? Do you?!"

She was breathing heavily and despite his best efforts the monkey Faunus' gaze fell. She felt the tidal wave of tiredness threatening to swamp her again. She picked up her coat from the back of the couch and wrapped it around her shoulders, pushing her way out the door and slamming it behind her. Sun sat for several moments before folding and putting his face in his hands.

"I tried Blake," he whispered to the ghosts in the rafters. "I tried. I'm so sorry."

There was no reply.

* * *

Unlike Sun, Gideon didn't care if Yang drank herself into a stupor. She stumbled home and somehow found her way into her own bed, collapsing fully clothed and sleeping like a bear. When she opened her eyes, the light slanting in through the drawn shades was amber. She pushed the color away and focused on her wall clock. 5:40. Gideon would be wanting her at the club before eight, so she stood shakily and showered quickly. The water was frigid and she didn't care. She clenched her teeth as they rattled in her skull, the water tracing its way down her body and failing to wash away a thing.

She dressed in her usual attire and brewed a pot of coffee before she left. The drink was scalding and black as sin. She had four cups. Pushing out the door, pockets stuffed with everything she needed, she called a cab and made her way to her stomping grounds.

Her bookie was in his office, licking the tips of his fingers as he flipped through stacks of lien notes. He looked irritated as she walked in, but quickly adjusted his mood as he faced himself with the prospect of another decent haul from tonight's bout.

"There's my girl!" he exclaimed happily. He rose to embrace her and Yang nearly laid him out then and there. Instead, she merely waved him off and fell into the seat across the desk from him. Withdrawing a roll of tape from her pocket, she set about wrapping her knuckles in preparation for the fight. Gideon talked at her as she proceeded.

"Your opponent tonight's some kind of big shot from Atlas. Six foot nine, two hundred seventy pounds... in a ranked match, he'd be so far out of your weight class it'd be laughable. Then again, in a ranked match you wouldn't be fighting him anyway. Not that ranked matches are your thing." Her gaze silenced him before he could ramble any further and he held up his hands before continuing on the original topic. "Basically, a lot of people are expecting him to lay you out, and a lot of people are expecting you to knock him down a peg or ten. Either way, I'm going to get a cut, but for your sake I'd suggest you perform to the expectations of the latter party."

She finished taping her hands and stood, brushing her hair aside and rubbing her face. Gideon stood and walked around the desk, concern written on his face, though it was hard to judge how genuine it was. "Are you alright? You look like you were up boxing with ghosts all night."

_You're not far off,_ she thought before she shook her head. "I'm fine. How long until the match?"

Gideon's face remained a mask of scrutiny. "Twenty minutes. Best go warm yourself up." She nodded and wandered out the door to his office, nearly running into the two-meter high slab of meat just outside the door. She blinked upward at the massive man, who gazed back down in return. His gaze was steely and he pushed her aside before stooping slightly to fit through the doorway. He called out to Gideon and the door shut behind Yang before she could hear any more of the conversation.

She spent the next fifteen minutes smashing a heavy bag with the face of Sun Wukong before walking out onto the sweat and bloodstained floor of the ring. Her opponent stood across from her; a mountain of meat. He drained half a bottle of water in a few gulps and scuffed the tape on his knuckles against the concrete floor before hopping into the ring proper. Yang stood across from him, pushing the demons in the back of her mind down. No time for regrets right now. She had ass to kick.

If there was one thing that Yang had made sure to maintain through the years, it was her ability to fight. The moment the bell rang to signal the start of the fight, she was seventeen and punching Ursai again. She found her stance and advanced quickly, sending out a few jabs and crosses to test the waters and get her opponent on edge. He pushed aside or stepped back from the preliminary blows, his own hands never straying from in front of his face. Propelling herself, Yang launched a pair of quick jabs, followed by a cross for full contact. The blows struck her opponent's shoulders as he twisted and ducked, and Yang didn't have time to see the hook coming. The world around her exploded into fragments as she recoiled backwards, and before she knew it she was on the defensive. She ducked and weaved around everything that was thrown at her, but many blows still found contact. She felt solid strikes meet her forearms and shoulders, and aside from the first hook she caught a stinging blow to the side of her head that staggered her and set her ears ringing.

She turned her gaze back to her opponent, fire in her eyes, and went on the offensive again. She skipped the jabs this time and went straight for the cross-hook followup. Her opponent bucked for only a moment when her fist found his flank exposed, but soon enough he was defending like a champ again. She went for an uppercut and found her arm trapped in a vice-grip. Her opponent slammed her down and she was defenseless as his free hand came down hard on her collar. She cried out and her knees buckled, but by some providence she managed to force herself back out of his range.

The bell rang, signaling the end of a round. She sent the man a glance as she sprayed water into her mouth, getting most of the precious liquid on her face instead. She shook her head, sending droplets cascading to the floor and the man spat across the ring.

As the two began to circle again, Yang's eyes scanned her opponent. She looked for a sign of weakness. Something; anything that could give her an edge against an opponent tougher than any she'd faced in years. When she saw it, she felt as though she had skipped the fight and gone straight to the drinking. Her stomach heaved, she grew dizzy and she nearly vomited then and there.

The tattoo was barely hidden by his collar; it peered ever-so-slightly around the top of the fabric at the edge of his neckline. She didn't need to see the whole picture to know what it was. There were no identifiable features on the man, but why would he have the tattoo if he wasn't...

Feeling rage boil inside her, she lunged forward. Her attacks came quickly and landed solidly, and the man barely had time to register each hit before the next one followed it. Blow after blow struck him chest, shoulders and at long last face. His arms flopped like rubber snakes as she tried in vain to assume a defense, and Yang planted her foot before sending a crushing blow into the underside of her opponent's jaw. The bruiser staggered back and Yang was on him in a moment's notice. She leapt into the air, rolling midway through her leap and wrapping her legs around his beefy neck. She gave a twist and they both fell to the ring floor, a tangle of limbs. the crowd was going mad in their seats and the referee was crying out to get the fight to cease.

He rolled onto his back just in time to take a blow square to the teeth from Yang, astride him like his wildest fantasy gone horridly wrong. Her fist cocked back and fell again and again and again, slamming into his face with relentless force. His teeth shattered, his nose burst, his eyes were swollen like overripe fruit and stil she kept swinging. Tears streamed down her face, falling to the floor like diamonds even as a pair of bouncers pulled her off the man. She raged and screamed as they dragged her back, and only after she broke her gaze from the man on the floor for just a moment did she see Sun sitting in the stands.

His face was unreadable, but Yang knew what he was feeling. She didn't feel the blow to the back of her head until all the lights went out.

* * *

**AN - ** Yeah, I know I just released a new story yesterday, but I unfortunately don't see myself going very far with "Immortal." Sadly, I'm not the best at writing about emotional stuff, and loss/angst is really tricky to do well. So instead, I've teamed up with my good friend Al_Hats to create this interesting little project. It will (as you can likely already tell) deal with a lot of heavy emotional stuff that will be further explained later on. It will also have a good deal of action, a lot of yelling and some hardcore tender moments between two of my favorite characters.

Say what you will; about Sun as a character, I think he's great. He serves as a good foil to other characters, he's got a cool fighting style, a kickass weapon and he's funny. Couple that with Yang's... Unique personality, and you've got a pretty impressive recipe. Al and I are hoping to capitalize on that, and we hope that you'll all stick around for the ride.

I'll try to update this one fairly often, and it should be easier since we have two people working on it. Nonetheless, I make no promises. Still, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Please feel free to drop by with a favorite, follow or a review. Feedback is especially appreciated, as we're always looking for ways to make the story better and your feedback is one of the best ways to accomplish that. Thanks for reading!


	2. Old, Unhappy, Far-Off Things

**Bellringer**

**a LegionOfMisfits / Al_Hats collabfic**

**Chapter 2**

* * *

Pain. Not a hangover, not bruises, just pain. Thathe sides what Yang woke up to.

It was everywhere. It was persistent. And it only made her madder. She rotated her gaze from the stark grey ceiling of the cell where she had woken to look out the simple metal bars. She swore. Her gaze swiveled again and she saw her fellow inmates; three other gamblers who had been thrown in after their antics at the fight had gotten out of hand. None of them held a candle to the blonde brawler though, and all three watched her warily from their own side of the cell.

She realized that she was in need of relief and looked to the small, dirty toilet that crouched in one corner of the cell. She shot another glance at the three troublemakers and they got the message clear enough. They averted their gazes and one even whistled quietly while she squatted and did what she had to do. When she was done, she pulled her pants back up around her waist and stood, stretching sore muscles in her entire body. She could hear voices outside the cell, but the speakers were out of her vision.

Time passed and she could still hear the distant sound of voices before finally, the sources stepped around a corner and into her view. A Vale police officer, looking severely disgruntled, and behind him and even more cross Sun Wukong. Yang almost laughed. He looked every part the disapproving parent. Or at least he would, if he himself didn't look like he had just fought off an army of Beowolves in an alley. His shirt was undone at the top three buttons, one sleeve was torn and there was a pattern of reddish-brown specks on the cuff of his right hand. He had a bruise swelling on his knuckles and at some point his lip had been split. He beckoned to her and the three inmates watched in silence as the guard ushered her out, into the waiting arms of her savior.

Outside, Sun and Yang walked abreast down the sidewalk towards Yang's apartment, and Yang listened quietly while Sun ranted.

"Irresponsible, reckless, I mean, Jesus Yang, what the fuck did you think was going to happen? I mean, I've seen you do some stupid shit, but I think that takes the cake. They were still picking up that poor bastard's teeth when they wheeled him into the ambulance, you know that? Stupid! I swear, people tell me I do dumb, irresponsible things, but I've never even considered-"

"I know, OK?" she said miserably. "I know I just-"

"You what?" he asked, stopping mid-stride. He faced her, normally carefree demeanor replaced by an expression of exasperated anger. _God, he does look like Dad,_ she thought with a twinge of melancholy. "What exactly did you do, Yang?"

She felt the rage boil inside her, and in a moment it spilled over. "He was White Fang, OK? Is that what you want to hear! I did that to him because he was White Fang!"

The street was all-but deserted at this time of night, and Sun was thankful for that. Her voice echoed dimly through the alleys and streets, only interrupted briefly by a passing car. _White… No, there was no way._ Her grabbed her wrist and dragged her behind him, despite her protests. He didn't stop until they reached her apartment, where he opened the (unlocked) door and threw her inside, closing the door sharply behind them.

"What the fuck, Sun?!" she asked angrily before he shushed her.

"Keep your voice down, it's the middle of the night!" He ran a hand through his hair, mind racing. "You... He... Yang, you're wrong. There's no way. The White Fang have been disbanded for years, ever since... You made a mistake."

She shook her head vehemently. "I know what I saw, Sun. He had a White Fang tattoo right here." She pointed to the spot on her own neck where the tattoo had been on the opponent and Sun rubbed his eyes and saw that Yang's own were brimming with tears. "He's one of them," she repeated solemnly. "Or he was... Either way, he deserved everything he got a dozen times over."

"Yang, you don't understand. He wasn't Faunus." This gave her pause.

"You mean you couldn't tell he was Faunus?"

"No, I mean _he wasn't a Faunus._ I can tell, OK? A Faunus in a crowd of humans stands out like a sore thumb and this guy didn't set off any alarms. You probably saw the tattoo and thought it was the White Fang logo, but really it could have been anything."

Yang slumped onto the lone chair that sat in the center of her living space. She brushed the strands of molten gold cascading down her head distractedly. Sun looked around for a moment and spotted a coffee pot in her kitchen. Quickly washing out the pot as best he could, he set a fresh pot of the liquid on and found two mugs. These he set aside for a moment while he retreated into Yang's bedroom. She almost broke her silent reverie to tell him to get the fuck out of her room, but he emerged a moment later carrying a heavy woolen blanket, which he unceremoniously tossed over Yang while he fetched the coffee.

A moment later the two sat; Yang blanketed and lost in the comfort of her shitty old chair and Sun cross-legged on the floor. Both sipped their coffee idly and waited for the other to engage the conversation. Surprising both of them, it was Yang who finally initiated.

"What's going to happen now?" She tried to hide it, but the fear was there. It lurked just beneath the surface of her voice, threatening to wash over and escape. Sun's own voice was deathly calm; a forced stoicness.

"I won't lie, Yang, it's going to be bad. That guy you beat up is a big-shot underground fighter in Atlas, from what I've heard. If- when he recovers, he'll be pissed. If you're lucky, he'll talked everything you own and have you whacked in a dark alley. If fate doesn't swing your way, he'll still take everything you own, but he'll also force you into servitude for the rest of your life."

Yang's eyes widened and she nearly threw her coffee mug. "That's bullshit! He... He can't... That's illegal!"

Sun looked at her as though she was joking. "So is breaking every bone in someone's face. Yang, you need to think here. If you stay, you're fucked; so why not come with me? I can get you the help you need, let things cool down for a while. We can go to Beacon-"

"No," she answered flatly. "Forget it. Sun, I appreciate all this; really, I do. But I've been taking care of myself for four years. I can manage a few angry knuckle-draggers."

Sun would have been amused at the thought had he not been so fearful for Yang's safety. Yang rubbed her forehead and drained the last of her coffee, leaving only dregs. It would be a while before she could fall asleep, but she needed to try.

She stood and walked toward the door, Sun sighing as he took the hint. They stood for a moment in the open doorway.

Sun inspected Yang's deadbolt for a moment before tapping it with his knuckles and stepping out. "At least promise to get a decent security system. And Yang? Just... Be careful. We've lost enough already."

She resisted the urge to slam the door in his face, but instead she closed it and slumped against the wood. She folded like an envelope, hands enveloping her head. She did not move the entire night.

* * *

Dawn came far too soon, but Yang ignored the sounds of morning and made her way to the aging radio she kept on side of the round table that occupied a quarter of her kitchen. She blew the dust off the top of the machine - a gift from her father on her eighteenth birthday. He figured that she could use it to "spruce up life in that dreary little dorm of [hers] at Beacon." It had sat in her Beacon dorm scarce a month before things went awry. Now it sat here; half the time her close friend and the other half a reminder. A grim reminder.

She turned the aging nobs, listening to the wave of crackles and peaks in the pitch as it rose and fell like a swelling tide. Finally she found the channel she sought and sat in a simple, high-backed chair as the sound of the radio host filled the room.

She'd picked up listening to the news from Her. She had always liked to hear about what was going on elsewhere, and Yang had always told Her She was weird for it. Who wanted to listen to a bunch of gloom and doom when there was so much else on? They'd argue about it in that way they'd had; never meaning any of it but merely enjoying the argument because it gave them reason to sit and listen to each other's voices. Then they'd laugh and Yang would switch it over to the trashy music she still enjoyed.

The lady on the news sounded like a stuck-up bitch reading off a cue card, but Yang listened intently anyway. Something something civil rights protest something higher gas prices something house fire. She tuned out most of the garbage before focusing in on what mattered to her.

"Police were called late last night after an organized underground boxing match took a turn for the worst. A famed Atlesian fighter who has elected - through a representative - to remain anonymous was hospitalized following an unprovoked assault by his opponent: purportedly a young _woman_ who has also remained unidentified.

"Police are not actively pursuing this woman, as she was bailed out early this morning by yet another anonymous party. From 106.7 FM, I'm Lisa Lavender. In an unrelated story…"

Yang shut off the radio and stretched, a chain of pops and cracks running up her back. She hadn't even thanked Sun for bailing her out. Stupid, reckless _and_ ungrateful. Was it any wonder that her friends hadn't bothered to come and find her in over a year?

She sat for a long moment before she felt something she hadn't in a long time. After a while, things that weren't used frequently fell out of habit. After four years of fighting and forcing herself not to rely on her aura, Yang had stopped recognizing the brief moments where it would flare in response to an incoming blow.

So, when it flared there in front of her window, she knew something must be very, very wrong.

The blinds were drawn but as she flipped open a single shade the light streamed through. She peered out through the tiny gap and scanned the street outside. Nothing out of the ordinary. But her aura wouldn't have alerted her if there wasn't something out there. She shut the blinds and ran a hand through her hair. Her stomach growled. How long had it been since she had eaten? She wandered to her meager kitchen and withdrew a few slices of aging bread. Stale but not moulded, she dropped them in the toaster and waited while they jumped. She ate them plain and washed the carbohydrates down with a fresh cup of coffee.

The wall clock read 12:22. Too early to head back to the club, and she was skeptical about going back at all. If things were as bad as the news report and Sun had made it sound, returning to the club might prove to be the latest in a long line of questionable decisions. She wasn't scared, but seeing that man last night... Whether he was White Fang or not, her _thoughts_ had triggered too many painful memories. Backlash. All manner of old, unhappy, far-off things.

Instead of leaving immediately, she made plans to stop by the little gym on the corner down the street from her apartment. It was usually crowded and she could stick her headphones in and wail on a sack of sand while she made up her mind of where to go next. She made one final resolution though, and walked into her meager bedroom.

The living space was nothing to crow about; a queen bed pushed against a beige wall, a pair of narrow windows, a dresser and a small door leading to a tiny bathroom. Yang made her way to the dresser, ignoring the first few drawers and going straight for the lowest of the containers. The bank slid out and revealed a carved box, easily the most extravagant and expensive belonging in the Spartan apartment.

Yang ran her fingers over the filigree of the box for a moment, tracing the patterns carved into the exotic wood. She took a deep breath and undid the latch, lifting the lid and forcing down an exclamation of pure awe at the contents.

The inside of the box was lined with crushed velvet and displayed two simple gold bracelets, but to Yang those pieces meant more than any other possession in the world. Reaching into the box almost reverently, she withdrew the bracelets and slipped them around her wrists one at a time. She flexed her fingers into fists, turning her wrists and admiring the gilded bands.

"Hey girls," she said quietly to the prized objects. "Been a long time." She sat with the bracelets for a long moment before flipping the familiar switch and watching with a mix of fascination and melancholic nostalgia as the bracelets assumed their familiar shape, encompassing her wrists wholly and whirring with expectation. She smiled. If she didn't know any better, she'd think that Ember Celica as just as anxious for a fight as Yang usually was.

That was interesting, she reflected inwardly. Normally, she'd grin and jump headfirst into a chance to crack some skulls, but there was something about this whole ordeal that didn't sit right with her. She couldn't place it, but deep inside Yang Xiao-Long something was growing that she hadn't felt in a long time.

She was uneasy. She was uncertain. And she was _worried_.

* * *

For once, she actually locked her apartment door behind her. As she made her way down the sidewalk, hands tucked in her pockets, she became aware of how long it had been since she was out and about at this time of day. Vale was always lively during the afternoon, with folks wrapping up the last of their afternoon shopping, running errands and heading home after long days of work.

She reached the gym within a few minutes and pushed open the doors, fully exposing herself to a wave of air-conditioning and sweat that washed over her and broke into a million shimmering scents. She smiled at the familiar odor and stepped inside, walking past rows of machines to the ring that dominated the back of the small building.

A young man with orange hair and a beefier fellow who couldn't be a day over thirty but sported hair as grey as ash were going at each other. Yang watched from ringside as blows were exchanged, each man testing one another at the start of the match. The orange-haired lad ducked under a feint and recoiled as Grey-Hair's left hand hooked him under the jaw. He spat as he began to circle again, the first blow of the match having struck solidly.

The pair reengaged and once again Grey-Hair came out on top, a jab and cross combo dropping his opponent to a kneeling position. Yang's eyes widened as Grey-Hair slammed his knee into the other guy's chin, knocking him to the ground.

The official rang a bell and both the fighters bumped knuckles appreciatively before hopping down from the ring. Yang smiled and nodded, walking over to a heavy bag suspended from the ceiling and taping up her knuckles absentmindedly. She took out a pair of headphones and stuck them into her ears and scroll, respectively, and cranked up her music as loud as it would go.

She loved fighting with a soundtrack. Every rumble of bass synced up perfectly as her fists met the unrelenting leather. Every reverb set the bag shaking on its chain. Sweat beaded and dripped down her forehead, falling and splashing on the concrete floor as she relentlessly hammered the bag. A sort of manic grin coalesced on her face and she only became aware after several moments that she was not alone.

Yanking out one earbud and suddenly halving the volume of the Achieve Men's first album in two years, she gave a sidelong glance to her new companion. The grey-haired fighter from the ring was looking at her curiously.

"Most folks don't go at a bag like that unless they've got a lot of something to get out," he said astutely. He extended a tape-wrapped hand. "I'm Haron."

Yang regarded him semi-suspiciously for a moment before giving the hand a pump and returning to her merciless assault on the sack of sand before her. "Yang," she said out the corner of her mouth as she struggled to keep her breathing regular.

Haron nodded. "You've got a good stance. You fight?"

Again, Yang paused to shoot him an inquisitive glance. He seemed far too friendly for this place. "Yeah, sometimes," she said with a shrug. "Why are you so curious?"

He backed off a few inches, holding up his hands. "Hey, not trying to be nosy - just making conversation. Never hurts to be polite." Despite his best efforts, Yang noticed his pupils straying up and down her form. An off-white tank-top and basketball shorts didn't leave much to the imagination. She nodded and gave a coy smile.

"You're right, it doesn't." A thought struck her then, one that she didn't even realize had been prying at her. "You fought pretty well up there," she said with a nod toward the now-vacant ring. Haron gave a humble gesture.

"Wasn't much of a fight," he said with just a touch of confident swagger. That wasn't so bad. Yang admired confidence.

"Yeah well, I thought that move of yours was pretty impressive. What, jab-hook follow-up and then a knee to the jaw when they were down? Where'd you pick up something like that?" She saw his eyes widen as recognition of her understanding hit him. She smiled.

He returned the gesture, scuffing his shoes on the cracked concrete floor. "Should've figured I couldn't put one past the Firework," he said with a low chuckle. She sound made the hairs on the back of Yang's neck stand on end. Suddenly she became conscious not only of her balled fists, but of the shotgun-bracers seemingly waiting for a chance to get back to their intended purpose.

"That what they're calling me now?" she asked.

"Does it really matter what they call you? A woman brawler at Gideon's club... I saw you a couple nights ago; that was where I picked up that little trick of yours with the knee. But I didn't bother to stop in and see the next night's match. Guess I was still sore that I lost so much the first night I went to watch you." He saw Yang's eyes flash and his smile grew, never reaching his eyes but somehow managing to contort his entire face.

"So imagine my surprise when I hear that a woman at Gideon's put an Atlesian ring-champ on the hospital. No names, of course, but... Well..."

Yang heard a click and looked down to see the compact pistol that Haron had just drawn from his belt. His grin was merciless. "That fellow you put in the hospital? A couple of his boys stopped by Gideon's while I was there picking up on what happened. He's offering 10,000 lien to anyone who can give him info about you; double that to anyone who can bring you in."

I should have listened to Sun, she thought miserably as she considered her options. The gun was pressed tight against her abdomen. Her aura might - might - lessen the severity of a point-blank shot, but even so an injury would hamper her ability to fight. If it didn't kill her. And seeing as going along quietly wasn't a preferable alternative, she needed to think of a way to get Haron's gun away from him.

She gave her most coquettish smile. "Y'know Haron, there are easier ways to get me to go home with you."

The bounty hunter laughed - a short, barking sound more reminiscent of an animal than a man. "Nice try, Yang. But those folks I mentioned? The ones from Gideon's? They're already on their way. Have been since the moment you walked in. All I need to do is keep you... Docile until they arrive."

Yang's smile grew, and like Haron's it was as false as a promise made in a moment of passion. "Gonna be kind of hard to do that without your gun, isn't it?"

The flicker of uncertainty on his face - the moment of hesitation - was more than enough. Ember Celica sprang up around Yang's wrists in the blink of an eye and before Haron could even consider a possible course of action, a shot of Dust-fueled buckshot sent him spiraling backwards.

Yang almost felt pity. A shot like that was mortal, more likely than not. But if there was one thing that she had learned in the last four years, it was that guilt for what you've done is usually a sign that you would have died if you hadn't done it.

Her guilty satisfaction curdled as screams echoed throughout the gym, folks running out the doors and into the street. What concerned Yang though was that Haron was already back on his feet. He grimaced as he shifted, but already the luminescent layer of protection that had shielded him from the blast was returning to its dormant state. Not a mark on him. His aura had fully protected him from what - to anyone without proper training - would have been a lethal hit.

With a snarl, Haron raised his gun and started squeezing off shots. Semi-automatic fire ripped the heavy bag behind Yang to shreds as she rolled out of the way, rising to a low crouch and blocking an incoming shot with one of Ember Celica's armored plates. The round screamed off and struck an elliptical machine, sending up a cloud of sparks as Yang advanced.

Her aura flickered and buzzed again and again, warning her which way to dodge to avoid the incoming shots. By the time only a few meters remained between them, Haron's ammunition run dry. He tossed the pistol aside and assumed a defensive stance, taking Yang's attack in stride. She swung with a heavy overhand, launching her body a few feet into the air with a blast from her gauntlets and descending like a meteor.

Haron was ready, his right hand grabbing Yang's right wrist as his left swung brutally on her torso. She felt the blow, slamming into the hard ground and bouncing before he was on her again. She kept her hands up, weaving and pushing away the blows he threw at her. She saw an opening and slammed a left hook into Haron's jaw, knocking him back a few feet. He slid and spat as his aura shimmered again. He was weakening. A thin line of blood traced down the center of his chin from a busted lip and his indigo eyes were brimming with malice.

"I never favored guns," he said, circling his opponent warily. "Always preferred to get up close and personal." To put emphasis on his statement, he jumped forward again and feigned high before slamming a fist into Yang's gut. Her aura was stretched the breaking point, already weakened from years of minimal use. Haron's other hand wrapped around her throat and thrust her into the ground, pinning her. She struggled to attack but every attempt to slam the trigger of Ember Celica resulted in an increase in pressure. He wasn't afraid to break her neck, she realized. He grinned maniacally before the sound of automatic weapons fire filled the eerily quiet space. Yang's heart hammered in her ears as Haron winced.

"That's enough, Haron," said a voice from towards the door. Haron's grip slackened only slightly and Yang gasped for air through the tiny gap this afforded her. Haron's eyes never left her though, and the crushing pressure remained.

"Hell with that, you masked sonofabitch. Your promised 20,000 lien for bringing this bitch in, and that's exactly what I intend to do." He hesitated for only a moment and Yang leapt on the opportunity. She jammed her fist into Haron's gut and slammed off a shot, Dust-fueled BB's and fire sending him backwards yet again. He crashed into an exercise machine and fell to a heap before struggling to his feet. His aura flickered and died and he collapsed weakly to the floor. Yang turned her attention to the new threat.

In the corridor created by a multitude of exercise machines, perhaps a dozen men and women stood, clad in simple grey tunics and black hoods. White masks covered their faces, but Faunus features were clearly visible. A man toting a machine gun bore the ears of a dog, a swordsman's long rat tail twitched visibly and a pair of antlers towered above the rest of the party. At their head was a lone man, a pair of boar's tusks protruding from under his mask. He stepped forward, shooting a sidelong glance at the crumpled form of Haron.

"Pitiful," he said. His was the same voice Yang had heard when the group had first entered.

She regarded the newcomers with an appropriate measure of hesitance and hostility. Haron had mentioned that the White Fang had been alerted when Yang had first walked into the gym. She grit her teeth as he spoke again.

"You know who we are." It was not a question; merely a statement of fact, as carefree as though he was observing that the sun was shining. Yang spit.

"You're White Fang," she said, the words bitter on her tongue.

Tusks nodded. "And you are Yang Xiao-Long; daughter of Huntsman Taiyang Xiao-Long, sister of Huntress Ruby-Rose. Student at Beacon academy and a girl with too much skill and too many grudges for her own good."

Yang snarled. "Too many grudges? Please. You bastards know exactly what you've done… and what it looks like you're only too willing to do again."

Tusks gave a sick sort of smile as he withdrew a cigarette from his vest and lit the end, sticking the other side into his mouth beneath the mask and inhaling. He lowered the cigarette and sighed. "Miss Xiao-Long you have to understand; this is business. You attacked one of ours, so now we need to see to it that such a thing does not occur again."

Yang grit her teeth. Business, he called it. She raised her hands a little higher and ran her fingers over Ember Celica's triggers. Twelve was tough odds - White Fang weren't common thugs; they were trained and usually had unlocked auras. They were tougher and better fighters than most, and numbers could easily overwhelm.

If Yang could hold them off long enough for police to arrive she might have a chance, but the distinct lack of sirens in the distance told her she shouldn't hold her breath. "Come on then, shitheads. You want to conduct business, step into my office." She cocked Ember Celica to emphasise her point and Tusks shook his head as he took another drag on his cigarette.

"Miss Xiao-Long, you may be reckless but you've never been stupid. Your Huntsman friends aren't coming. The police won't be here in time. You can come quietly or we can drag you."

"I wouldn't advise either of those," came the voice from behind the party.

A few of the White Fang were dumb enough to turn, their broken focus providing just the opportunity that Yang needed. She launched herself forward with two coordinated blasts from her gauntlets, rocketing through the air and delivering a kick to the gut of the nearest White Fang. He spun backwards, bowling over one of his compatriots before the fighting began in earnest.

Yang ducked under a man's sword and jammed a fist under his chin, slamming the trigger and launching the terrorist upwards with enough force to crack the ceiling where he struck. Another leveled his rifle and sent out a burst of fire. Yang's aura flared and she felt the sting as one of the rounds made impact and bounced off the soulful barrier that surrounded her. She grabbed the barrel of the Faunus' gun and twisted it from his grasp before slamming the butt-end of the weapon into his face with enough force to crack his Grimm-mask.

Tusks was in a flurry, calling out commands to his subordinates as a series of shotgun blasts emanated from the door. Through a crack in the Faunus' line, Yang could see a figure clad in a white jacket with a popped collar swinging a pair of fire-spitting nunchaku at the mass of extremists. One man was unlucky enough to be caught before the onslaught, and his aura flared like a beacon before bursting. The figure wielding the nunchaku swung around on his axis and delivered a roundhouse kick that sent the defenseless White Fang member sprawling.

The guns came together and formed a two-meter long staff which twirled in the air like a helicopter blade before being brought about in a wide arc and knocking back three grunts with a single blow. One of the men flew Yang's way and she raised her right hand, ramming a fist into the unlucky Faunus' shoulder and slamming him into the ground.

Yang's aura alerted her just in time for her to duck under a sword blow that could have taken her head off. Tusks glared at her, blade held in a relaxed and confident grip as his eyes burned like miniature suns. Yang deflected a blow from his sword and swung at him with her offhand, swearing as he twisted out of the way and swung his sword downward in a vicious arc. Yang's aura took the hit just below the shoulder, but she winced in pain as the last of the protective force gave way. Another hit like that and she may well lose the arm. She leapt back out of Tusks' range and sent a cloud of buckshot towards him, which he leapt through with minimal result and slashed at her again.

Yang became aware that Sun was at her side now, and the pair pushed Tusks back in tandem. Every blow from the staff that Tusks deflected was followed immediately by a flaming punch, and through the crimson that stained her eyes to the roots, Yang could see that the White Fang officer was wavering.

Finally, he lost his footing and tripped over the prone form of one of his battered comrades. He seemed to suspend in midair for a moment before Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang arced crosswise and struck him in the abdomen. He crumpled in mid air and struck the far wall of the gym, leaving only the scent of gunsmoke and the faint groaning of the beaten extremists.

The two victors wasted no time in vacating. Both rushed down the street as the sound of sirens approached distantly. They stopped at a street corner blocks away and saw flashing lights surround the gym. Yang panted like a champion sprinter as Sun found his way to her side.

"Are you alright?" he asked, voice brimming with concern.

Yang nodded weakly. "I'll be fine. But we need to get somewhere safe. My apartment is the other way; on the far side of a bunch of cops I really don't want to deal with right now."

Sun nodded. "Mine too. Follow me; I think I know a place where we can lay low for a while."

Yang was in no position to argue, so she followed the monkey Faunus, her adrenaline rush slowly dying down. She realized something, as the pair of them made their way through the streets. She had just emerged barely victorious from her first serious fight in years. She was haggard, sore and were it not for Sun, she'd likely be dead.

And she loved it.

* * *

**AN - **Whew. And thus we have the second chapter. Nearly 6,000 words; far-and-away the longest chapter I've written for any fic so far. Lots of filler but important set-up to the fun stuff that will come later on. And I feel we balanced it well with some nice action. Good to give Sun some time in the... sun... Anyway, this will have repercussions, and we'll get to see plenty more Sun/Yang tag-teaming later on. This is honestly the story that I've had the most fun writing since _Blonde Roast_ and seeing as it's Al's first attempt at writing any sort of extended piece, I'm only too happy to collaborate and produce something that people seem to be enjoying!

On an aside, I'd like to thank my part-time friendly rival, part-time womb-mate Vanessa for helping me with this chapter. Yesterday I broke my arm and she was so kind as to type for me while I read these passages out loud. Got some weird looks, but it carried over correctly so I guess all's well that ends well.

Also, don't forget about Haron. I know OCs are a turn-off for a lot of folks, but there's more to him than meets the eye, and you haven't seen the last of him yet.

Next time: more action, more heavy stuff, more Solar Flare and a few familiar faces to liven it all up. Hope you're all as excited as Al and I are. As always, please leave a comment or review so that we can learn what you guys want and improve the story. As Yang will learn soon enough, the surest way to avoid making new mistakes is to learn from the ones you've already made. Thanks for reading!


	3. Unionizing

**Unionizing**

**a LegionOfMisfits / Al_Hats collabfic**

**Chapter 3**

* * *

Sun and Yang didn't stop until they reached their destination. The apartment was a quaint little brick building next door to an equally quaint coffee shop. Yang remembered seeing the name of the place in the news a few years earlier. Something about a bombing and a gang war?

Shaking her head clear of the thoughts, she stopped and waited patiently while Sun rapped his knuckles on the hardwood door. He waited and listened as the deadbolt was unlatched on the other side, and Yang's jaw nearly hit the floor when she saw the person on the other side.

"Sun?"

"Velvet! Long time no see! How are you-"

Yang resisted the urge to burst into laughter at the sight of the rabbit Faunus slapping Sun across the face, her petite figure practically fuming in the doorway.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here? Your bloody nerve - after what you did last time you 'stopped by?' Are you crazy or just stupid, you angry, pigheaded-"

"Velvet!" Sun cried, holding up his hands to ward off any further exchange of blows. "Trust me, I know - you've made your point, but I wouldn't be here if we didn't need somewhere to go."

Velvet cocked an eyebrow, hands on her hips like a disapproving grandmother. "We?"

Sun nodded slowly and stepped aside, revealing Yang to her old friend. Velvet's eyes widened. "Yang?" she asked. "Oh God..." She looked dumbfounded for a long moment before stamping her foot in frustration and grabbing both Sun and Yang and dragging them inside. The door closed behind them and they soon found themselves in a large and comfortable apartment interior. Two armchairs and a couch were circled around a coffee table strewn with playing cards and empty disposable coffee cups.

In the largest recliner that Yang had ever seen sat Yatsuhashi Daichi, daintily squinting through a pair of reading glasses at a book which barely filled the massive young man's palms. He looked up as Velvet entered and his eyes widened as they alighted on Sun. He set down the book and signed frantically to Velvet, who wordlessly responded with her hands before turning and pointing out Yang.

Yatsuhashi nodded and stood slowly, stooping slightly to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling. He folded his hands in front of his chest and bowed deeply in a sign of respect and greeting, to which Yang smiled and returned as best she could.

Velvet turned back to her guests. "Now, would one of you kindly explain what's going on?"

Sun nodded. "Long story short, Yang here is in a bit of trouble and we need a place to lie low."

Velvet looked incredulous. "So your first instinct is to come here? What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Seriously Sun, shut up - you're doing a poor job of explaining this," Yang said as she pushed him aside slightly. "Velvet, I promise you that this wasn't our first choice, but our own apartments are on the far side of a lot of people that we don't want to deal with. There are people actively looking for us and odds are they're watching our homes too. We're not asking you to shelter us long-term, we just need somewhere to hang out for a little while. If that's a problem, we'll go and no hard feelings."

Velvet was silent until she sighed. She signed what Yang had said to Yatsuhashi and the large man considered for a moment before signing in response. Velvet turned to Sun.

"If you had explained it like that, or maybe _called ahead_, we would have rolled out the red carpet, but as it is... you can stay here for a while. But listen here, Sun, when Coco gets back she's going to-"

"Coco's going to what?" came a voice from the doorway. All eyes swiveled (except Yatsuhashi's) and found the remainder of Velvet and Yatsu's team standing in the doorway, clutching trays of steaming coffee and brown paper pastry bags.

Velvet covered her eyes and Yatsuhashi rapidly decided to return to his book once he noticed Fox and Coco's return. Yang was still confused as to what was going on, but from the look on Sun's face she got the feeling that the monkey Faunus would rather go back and face the police and White Fang.

Coco's eyes finally found Sun and, though her face remained neutral, she quietly handed her hat, glasses and the beverages she was carrying to Fox. The dark-skinned Huntsman looked decidedly awkward and took advantage of the situation.

"Whew. Um... Oh, look at that, we have guests," he said. "You guys want coffee? I bet you want coffee. I'll go get some more." He dropped the load he was carrying on a table by the door and backed out into the hallway. The front door closed as quickly as it had opened, and the room was totally quiet save for the sound of cars passing by outside.

"Velvet, is there a reason for this?" Coco asked placidly. The rabbit Faunus gulped visibly.

"He um... they... er, Yang, you did a good job explaining it, you tell her."

"Oh no," Yang said with a shake of her head. "I'm not explaining anything until someone gives me a few answers." Another awkward silence stretched, broken only momentarily by a minute rustle as Yatsuhashi turned a page of his book. Finally, Coco sighed.

"Long story short, this asshole," she jerked a thumb towards Sun, "seems to enjoy sticking his nose where it hurts. Do you remember what I said last time you were here?" She addressed this last to Sun.

The monkey Faunus scratched the back of his head. "Something along the lines of brutal, bloody murder and absolutely no chance of the police ever recovering enough remains for a proper funeral."

Coco nodded and ran a hand down her face, pausing to rub her eyes tiredly. "I came home from assignment one day and found him - with another girl. Serves me right for giving him my keys, I suppose."

Yang was incredulous. "Wait a second… you two…?" Coco nodded. Yang whistled appreciatively, though she wasn't sure who it was she was appreciating. "Damn. The things you miss."

Coco shot Yang a glance out her periphery. Her face was a mask. "Trust me, Yang, you've missed plenty. But there you go - now you know why I'm not exactly enthusiastic about having this one under my roof again. You're the thing I can't figure out though. What's going on?"

Yang took a deep breath and wondered just how much she ought to tell. Then she kicked herself mentally. Coco, Velvet and Yatsuhashi were willing to shelter them - for that alone they deserved to know the full story. So she told it as it was; from the beginning two nights past when Sun had found her at Gideon's to the events of that same day: Haron, the White Fang and her and Sun's flight from the police and their attackers. Coco listened intently, and halfway through Fox returned with two more cups of coffee and picked up on the details as he went. Velvet interpreted for Yatsu and when Yang was finally done everybody sat back in their chairs to mull over the information.

"Quite a story, Yang," Fox finally said as he took a long sip of his coffee.

"Impressive, but all true," Sun said. "I can attest personally - guys look, whatever mistakes I've made in the past, that's fine, but don't turn Yang away. She needs a place to lie low. Besides, I have other business I want to look into." He stood and finished off the last of the coffee Fox had brought him, stretching and making a move towards the door. Yang half stood as well.

"Where are you going?" she asked. "There's a cadre of terrorists and a bunch of police out there looking for you; you don't seriously think you're going to go off alone without waiting a little longer? You said it yourself Sun, _we_ need a place to lie low."

What the Hell was that? Was she defending him? Why? Before this week she hadn't seen the blond Faunus in over two years, and even then the two of them had never been extremely close - friends, yeah, but nothing more. Not like Yang had ever been with Ruby or… or Weiss or...

She shut the thoughts out of her head before they could overwhelm her and realize that everyone was still watching her, seeing if she would say more. Yang shrugged.

"Believe me, Yang, I wouldn't be here right now if I didn't know how to avoid cops and terrorists. I'll see you soon."

He disappeared without a further word, but withdrew his wallet and dropped a 5-lien note in Fox's lap as a silent thank-you for the coffee. The door in the hall opened and shut and the room was quiet again. Yatsuhashi signed something to Coco, who merely made an ineffectual gesture with one hand.

Yang took another sip of her drink and sighed. This was detention at Beacon all over again. "So… what've you guys been up to the last couple years?"

Time passed and Yang found herself wishing that everything could just go back to its normal, shitty self again. Wake up late, work out, beat the shit out of some poor sap, get paid and get smashed. No White Fang, no bounty hunters, no awkward reunions with old relations.

Yang loved CFVY dearly - Velvet had always been a good friend, Yatsu was as dependable as he was stoic and though she'd never known them well Fox and Coco seemed like genuinely good people. All four of them were still working for Ozpin at Beacon, running professional missions solo or as a team. The apartment was paid for Dutch, and the place had the familiar homely feel of a dorm room. The thought made Yang sad. She wondered who was using team RWBY's old dorm right now; were they doing the familiar space honor in the wake of its previous owners' departure?

They'd offered to tell Yang more about others back at Beacon - about Jaune and Pyrrha, Ren and Nora, Cardin, Weiss, Ruby… The names hit her harder than she might like to admit, every one sending a fresh wave of regret. What was this? She hadn't felt like this in years, but suddenly she was wanting - Hell, she felt the _need_ to go see her old friends and teammates - her sisters - again. She wanted to see JNPR and hear another of Ozpin's shitty old lectures and goddamn her for even thinking it, but yeah, she wanted to see Public Douchebag #1 Cardin Winchester and Glynda Goodbitch too.

Whether she wanted it to or not was irrelevant. Yang's new life was being slowly eclipsed by her old one. The question was how would she deal with it?

CFVY let her use their shower - cold, city water but clean and it washed away the residue of her early afternoon brawl. The daylight was fading from the city and a thousand stars were shining out the windows of homes as the weekend came to a close. CFVY decided to eat out and invited Yang along, though she politely declined. Instead she crashed on her hosts' surprisingly comfortable couch and slept for a few hours. CFVY returned with some half-warm leftovers which Yang nuked and ate alone as the rest of the team retired for the evening.

Morning came and Yang was surprised to find that she had slept. Usually she was up until dawn and slept past noon, so it was a welcome change to go to bed at a reasonable hour and wake up while it was still morning.

Velvet and Coco were gone out for a morning run when Yang woke. Yatsuhashi was busy in the kitchen, his massive hands delicately cutting and paring vegetables and pushing them into an immense colander. Fox was busily shuffling and reshuffling a greasy deck of cards, his earbuds thrust deep into his head and blaring music loud enough for Yang to hear across the parlor.

Yang took out her scroll and scanned through the local news - a fight had apparently broken out at a small gym downtown. Several Faunus, believed to be members of an organized gang, were arrested after a few eyewitnesses came forward claiming that the group had been involved in the fight. Witnesses also reported that a blonde-haired young woman and a grey-haired man had taken part, though police had thus far failed to apprehend either of them. The police had active warrants for several potential suspects, and were pursuing any and all relevant leads.

Yang sighed. Well, that cut out any possibility that she could go out and get some fresh air. She turned to Fox and leaned in, resting her elbows on the coffee table and her chin relaxing on top of her hands. "Fox?" she asked. The tanned young man looked at her and cocked an eyebrow in silent response.

"Sun... When he and Coco were a... Thing... What was that like?"

Now Fox was well and truly puzzled. "What do you mean?"

Yang shrugged. "I mean how were things? Were they happy? Did they do things together? Did they argue?"

Fox considered for a moment, the cards in his hands flicking back and forth before answering. "Things were alright. It was a few years ago - back when we were still at Beacon. Sun and his team came to Beacon for a semester-long residency; chance for the to really get an idea of what being a student here was like. The two of them starting out together after they had a training bout one day. They hammered at each other for the better part of an hour before the teachers called the match a draw. I guess they just sort of came closer and closer together after that.

"It wasn't so bad. Sun was pretty well-behaved, at least around Coco. There were ups and downs sure, there always are, but she seemed happy and that was all that I cared about."

Yang could detect just the barest hint of bitterness beneath the layers of his voice, and she wondered how Fox had truly felt when things fell through.

"After their falling out, Coco shut down for a long time. She just didn't want to face what had happened. She really loved him, and if you compound that with what else happened..." He hesitated for a moment and Yang raised an eyebrow, silently pressing. "Her father died just a few days after she and Sun... He was an airship pilot. His ship went down over the mainland between Vale and Vacuo. By the time rescue crews got there... There wasn't anything left. The Grimm..."

Yang felt a pit deep within her stomach, and a newfound sympathy for the brunette Huntress. _We've both lost people, you and I. _

"After that things just got worse. I've known her for more than half my life, Yang. She's my best friend - my teammate and my partner, yeah, but my friend first. Seeing her like that... She stopped eating, slept fitfully, refused missions, and then one night I found her on the roof..." He choked and Yang reached out, laying a reassuring hand on his wrist. Fox took a deep breath.

"You don't need to continue," Yang said.

Fox shook his head. "People make foolish decisions in the wake of grief... But Coco is proof that they can bounce back. Sometimes they just need someone there to catch them."

Yang thought for a long time about that, wondering if he as being as specific as she suspected him of being. He smiled and returned to shuffling his cards, sitting back in his own chair. Yang's reverie was interrupted by the sound of a door opening.

"Well, the good news is that we can go home," Sun said as he strode triumphantly into the room. "I spoke to Ozpin and he sent a writ of explanation to the police, saying that the situation at the gym was part of a Hunter assignment. We're good to go." He turned to Fox. "Look man, I know you and I don't get along the best, but I really appreciate this." He reached into his coat and withdrew a handful of colorful lien notes of varying value. Counting out a few of the notes, he set them on the table between the two of them. Fox looked at the money and shook his head.

"Sun… You don't need to pay. We did this because you guys are friends." Sun shrugged.

"What's the point of having friends if not to loan you money? In this case though, you can keep it. Thanks again, Fox, and tell Coco… that I'm sorry. I know she's heard it but… I'm sorry." He turned to Yang before Fox could pursue the matter further. "Ready to go?" he asked.

Yang cocked an eyebrow. "Go _where_ exactly?" The monkey Faunus smirked.

"We're going to go pay your friend from the fight club a visit."

* * *

South Vale General was not the largest, nor the nicest, nor the best-located hospital in the city. This was all perfect for the man in Room 202.

He was a big man - that had always worked in his favor. Whether he was putting on a speech in front of a crowd or smashing someone's skull, his size had always given him a strength and intimidation factor that were hard to match. He sat in the massive white bed, fresh linens cradling his bruised form. By the miracle of his aura, his wounds were healing remarkably fast. His bones had knit and the various aches and pains that had once screamed of the abuse he had suffered now kept their noise to a dull roar.

He was gazing vacantly ahead at a television program that he didn't truly care about when he heard the commotion outside the door. A wood and glass wall separated him from the rest of the inpatient wing, and he was happy to constantly let two of his subordinates stand watch outside while he was left along with his thoughts. At one point one of his officers had come to him, reporting that his bid to find the blonde whore who had done this to him was working: dozens of opportunistic knuckle-dusters were combing the city for any and all signs of _Yang Xiao-Long._

When he had realized just who it was who had put him in this accursed position, he couldn't believe it. Yang Xiao-Long - one of the Fang's principle targets, back when the Fang was still organized, along with various others. She had gone missing a few years back and had never resurfaced until a couple nights before, when she'd gone on a rampage which had left one of the Fang's few remaining officers bedridden.

It would almost be comical, if it didn't hurt so damn much. But God in heaven, what was with the _racket__?_

He didn't have to wait long, as a moment later the door flew open. A pair of Fang members in civilian clothes were frantically gesturing to nearby nurses and doctors to do something, but nobody seemed particularly intent on stepping in the path of the burly blonde chick with shotguns on her wrists. The man's jaw set into a firm lock as it rested in the brace that held it. His eyes followed the woman as she stepped slowly into the room, walking around the far side of the bed and stopping near the man's left foot. Her friend followed her in; the monkey Faunus traitor who had supposedly been seen at the gym with her.

"Geez buddy," she said in a mocking tone. "You don't look so good. Lose a fight with a bus?" The man did not dignify that with an answer, but instead set his eyes hard on the young woman, hoping to draw on his old tactics and put some fear into the bitch. It didn't work.

Yang leaned all the way in, her face scant inches from the man's own. The monkey Faunus was arguing with a doctor. "Official Hunter business," he said. "This man is wanted for possible connection to a series of violent crimes in the city of Vale - we are investigating, but we assure you that no harm will come to him."

_Best tell that to her; she's the real threat!_ he screamed inside his own head as yang perched at his bedside.

"You and I have a lot of catching up to do," she said. "I threw the first punch, I admit. Maybe it was uncalled for, but didn't your mother ever teach you it was impolite to send death squads after people? Or to hire bounty hunters? C'mon, friend, we're both civilized folks - so what say we put all those past grievances aside for a bit and just have a nice chat - man-to-woman."

He did not respond, merely set his jaw again and gazed back into two lilac eyes that showed no hint of mercy or placation. She smiled.

"Good. Now, let's start at the beginning."

* * *

**AN - **Boom! Chapter 3! Length-wise it's a step backwards from last week, but Al and I have both been real busy this past week or so and it looks like things are going to continue that way. Nonetheless we'll continue to pump this out as quickly as we can without sacrificing quality, and I'll also be filling in some of the time gap with new chapters of "The Binding Force," which is a RWBY x SWtOR crossover that I've started which you should totally check out because you love me so much 3

So, how did you like seeing CFVY? Don't worry, they'll be more important later on - for now they served as a method for things to cool down and simultaneously to expound upon just how much Yang has missed in the course of the last few years (and trust me, there's much more than just what was mentioned here). Also, Blonde Roast references FTW.

As always, please feel free to stop by and drop off a review - feedback is not merely appreciated, it's goddamn essential. Next time, Yang and her friend have a nice "chat," and we might even find time to fit in some more action. Maybe if you all ask _really _nicely. Thanks for reading!

~Legion


	4. Bedside Manner

**Bedside Manner**

**a LegionOfMisfits / Al_Hats collabfic**

**Chapter 4**

* * *

Sun Wukong liked to think he was a person who was hard to worry. He kept a smile on his face as often as possible, tried to look on the bright side of things and didn't indulge in anything that would bring him stress or worry. Indeed, he was one of the most carefree people you could care to find in Vale.

But today, Yang Xiao-Long _scared_ him.

He stood by the door, arms crossed over his chest and tail twitching nervously. Beyond the locked door he could hear raised voices as the White Fang who crowded this wing of the hospital cried out to be allowed into the room where their leader lay abed. His ears picked up a raven Faunus (the vocal flanging was unmistakable) as she raised her voice at a panicked nurse.

"That woman is the one who put him here in the first place, now open this door or we'll _kick it down!_"

The nurse let out a little squeak of fear and Sun turned to Yang for a moment. She stood, hunched over the reclining form of the White Fang officer she had landed here after identifying the truth about his affiliation, and indeed, in his patient-issue gown Sun could clearly see the Grimm skull tattoo on the man's muscular neck. But his earlier statement to Yang remained unchanged, and now that he was nearer the man he was even more certain. This officer was not a Faunus, which begged the question: why was he leading a band of Faunus extremists notorious for their anti-human radical views?

There was something in the blonde woman's eyes as she hung her face inches from the patient. Her normally lilac eyes were clouded with a blood red so deep Sun was afraid that if he looked at it too long it would grab him and refuse to let go. She hated this man, and despite the words she had said as she cosied up to his bedside, he knew that Yang didn't regret what she had done to him in the club only a few days earlier.

That scared him more than any number of terrorists beating down the door. He heard a body strike the door with a shoulder and his hand fell to where Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang hung at his hip. He'd already had to use the weapon more than he liked to off-mission, and he wasn't enthusiastic about a fight in a hospital.

At the bedside, Yang's patience was growing thin. "You're a smart person - otherwise you wouldn't be in a position of power. But your friends who you sent to find me will gladly tell you that I am not somebody who you should mess with. I want an answer to the question I asked."

As he had, the man remained stoically silent. Hard grey eyes fixed on Yang and she was certain that if the terrorist could sneer, he would. As it was, his jaw was in a few too many pieces to accomplish such a feat.

Yang leaned in again, her face all-but touching his. "Last time I'm asking. Why are you here? Who sent you? Are the Fang organizing, and if so, why? They're simple questions, and by this point you ought to know better than to keep things from me."

"Yang," Sun said as another body hit the door, setting it rocking on its hinges. "We need to hurry it up; window is closing quickly."

She nodded and turned back to her new friend. "So?"

In response, the man spat through his partially-wired jaw. The gesture dribbled ineffectually down his chin to pool in the sheets. Yang _tsked_. "That wasn't very nice." She stood, every fibre of her body screaming for her to send this bastard's bed screeching out the window, or if nothing else to slam his head into the desk. It wasn't anything he didn't deserve. That any of them didn't deserve.

But she resisted. "That it?" Sun asked.

Yang shrugged. "He won't say anything, and you've already bribed me out twice. No need to go pushing our luck."

The monkey Faunus smiled. "Nice to hear you erring on the side of caution." She gave a half-smile and punched him on the shoulder.

"Let's go. We have a bunch of angry terrorists to wade through."

"Enjoy your freedom, Miss Xiao-Long," came the pain-muddled voice from behind them as they departed, the man's broken jaw lisping as he finally broke his silence. "The Fang always reach their goal, and nobody escapes justice forever." Yang's hands curled into fists as he continued. "One of these days, you'll slip up and then you and everyone you hold dear will end up just like your old part-"

She slammed the door so hard that the hinges rattled, leaving a cold silence as she faced down the man's enraged entourage. A doctor was on the phone with the police as Yang stormed past, Sun hanging behind her slightly and watching for any sign of treachery from the Fang in the lobby. Only when they were half a block away from the hospital did Yang pull off to the side, fall to her knees at the mouth of an alley and retch. She dry-heaved for a long moment before standing. Try as she might, Sun could see the moisture at the edges of her eyes.

"We'll get them," Sun said, trying to sound sure of himself. "We will. You and me. For Her sake."

"Sun..." She shook her golden head and sighed again. Dusk was falling rapidly on the city and she was tired. Her temporary stay at team CFVY's abode had been nice, but her body needed true rest on something other than a floor or a couch. "We did what we could, but there's nothing else to be done about it. Hopefully the Fang will get the message that coming after me was a mistake and they'll scurry back to whatever hole they're hiding in."

Sun was incredulous. "Yang, I don't believe this. There's no way you can just _give up_. You heard what he said - the Fang isn't going to rest until they see you face whatever sick 'justice' they've concocted for you."

"I'm not giving up, Sun! But we need to slow down. I… I've been away for a long time. Sure, I saw everybody last year but I've been gone a lot longer than that. It's fucked up, I know, but it's the truth. In the last four days, I've kicked in the teeth of a White Fang lieutenant, been arrested, almost got killed at the gym and reconnected with a lot of people who I've been doing my damndest to avoid for a while." She ran a hand through her hair, the waist-length locks twisting delicately around her fingers.

"I need to rest for a bit, Sun. Give this all a chance to set in. Come by my apartment tomorrow - around noon. I promise you, we'll get these sons of bitches and make them pay. But we need to be careful."

Sun was quiet for a long time, his tail twitching slightly as the pre-dusk gloom descended over the city. Finally, he nodded. "I'll talk to some folks - see what kinds of leads I can pick up that might give us a starting place. I'll stop by tomorrow."

Yang nodded and started to go before he stopped her. "Yang," he said. "Nobody ever gave up on you. When things were bad, we'd always say to each other 'Don't worry, any minute now, Yang will appear out of nowhere to save the day.' For a lot of them it was just a joke - an excuse to ease the pain of your absence.

"Not to me though. I believed it. I knew you were still out there kicking somewhere, and I knew that sooner or later you'd come back. Ruby and Weiss, they believed it too. And Jaune, Pyrrha, Nora and Ren… we all believed you'd come back. I'm sorry that it had to be under these circumstances, but for what it's worth, I'm glad we were right."

And then he was gone, and Yang was left wondering how glad _she_ was that her past had finally caught up to her.

* * *

The walk back to her apartment was a long one, but Yang didn't mind. The weather was good and the streets weren't as busy as they could be, so she took her time and enjoyed the sunshine. The promise of food in her stomach and a clean change of clothes were tempting, but she had nowhere to be and there was no need to rush.

For the second time, her aura flared unexpectedly. She stopped and looked around, hands instinctively rising to a defensive position. The street was empty save for a single car which puttered past and paid Yang no mind. Her eyes roved the rooftops and the alleys that pockmarked the rows of buildings, but there was no sign of life in the bustling city.

Why didn't that thought sit well with her?

Resolving to double her pace, she hurried the last few blocks back to her apartment. The shades were drawn, but her eyes narrowed as she noted a gap between the edge of the door and the painted frame.

Swearing quietly, she set the switch in motion that expanded Ember Celica into their full form on her wrists. The sound of a shell chambering seemed to echo eerily in the uneasy quiet, and Yang too cautious steps forward to the doorway. Raising her arms and letting them lead the rest of her body, she placed a single hand on the door and pushed slightly. The blaring klaxon in her head came a split second too late and her eyes widened as she heard the click and saw the flash of silver.

The wire snapped and the world was engulfed by fire.

* * *

Sun stopped on the sidewalk when he felt the pressure in his ears. He cringed, the pain striking him like a hammer blow scant moments before the ground shook. He wheeled, eyes watering from the intense feeling in his skull and looked off into the distance, where already a column of black smoke was rising high into the evening sky. Sun swore loudly and took off in the direction of the explosion, praying that his assumption of the cause was wrong.

Sirens were blaring in the distance, but Sun broke full-tilt towards the source of the blast. He rounded a corner and swore again, noting several figures moving far-too-brazenly amidst the ruins of the boulevard.

The situation was bad. Smoldering debris littered the street, clouds of choking dust and ash flurried about and fires were catching in the buildings that had not been instantly vaporized in the explosion. He heard one of the figures call out and ducked low when he realized what they were saying.

"Fan out. Find her. Make sure nobody knows we were here."

The figures were dressed plainly, but Sun could tell from a distance that they were all Faunus. Two dogs, a cat, a bear, a fox, two goats and a raven. He moved swiftly into an alley and followed it to the back before scaling the wall nimbly and perching himself atop one of the buildings out of the immediate blast zone.

He had to think fast. He had no doubt that the Faunus in the street below were more Fang, looking for their intended target. What would they find, Sun wondered. Nothing, if he could help it. But what would he find?

"Didn't I tell you to be careful?" came a voice from behind. Sun wheeled, hand flying to his weapon before he let out a sigh at the sight of Yang standing there, grinning like a fool.

She looked as though she had just lost an argument with an Ursa. Her sleeveless shirt was torn across the midriff, and holes peppered the soot-stained fabric. Her other clothes weren't in much better shape, and a hundred miniscule cuts and scrapes shone redly in the faint light cast by the evening sun and the crackling fires.

"As I recall," Sun said, "You said we _both_ need to be careful. I'm not sure this qualifies." She told him he was number one before stepping forward, right hand clutching her left shoulder. He aided her as she slumped against a stoically silent air conditioning box and muttered as he gave her a once-over.

"Where were you when the bomb went off?" he asked.

She chuckled and winced at the shock of pain that the simple action sent running down her body. "Right on top of it," she said with a smile. She flexed her left hand a little and Sun noticed the trickle of blood that ran tenuously down her arm following the movement. He reached out and slowly - gingerly - moved her hand away from her shoulder. He sucked in air through his teeth and Yang was momentarily thankful that she couldn't see the wound herself.

"Sun? How bad is it?"

The Faunus shrugged. "Could be worse, considering you just played hopscotch on a bomb. Your aura took the brunt of the blast, but you're cut up pretty bad, and in all likelihood you've broken a couple ribs. Maybe a concussion, but I don't think so-"

"Sun," she interrupted. "How bad is my _shoulder_?"

He blinked a couple times, dark-grey eyes flashing. Finally, "It's… bad. Like, immediate medical treatment bad." She gave him a look to carry on and he sighed. "A piece of something - maybe debris or shrapnel - cut right through. Near as I can tell, it's still in there, sitting pretty right next to an artery."

Yang breathed out a heavy sigh and Sun clucked his tongue. "Might want to control your breathing; if that debris shifts into your artery, there's not much I can do."

"Well, I suppose a hospital is out of the question?"

Sun scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Yeah. The White Fang will think to look there. Any of our homes that they know about are probably being watched too."

"They were watching me - staking me out ever since I beat that fathead leader of theirs to a pulp," she said bitterly. "I even felt them - my aura told me I was being watched, but I ignored it. Suppose this is my punishment."

"Beacon is too far out of the way," Sun said absentmindedly, not seeming to have heard her. "We'd never get you there before… well, best not to think about it."

Yang shot him a half-assed smile. "You're not much good at this whole comforting thing, are you?"

"Would you prefer I let those Fang down in the street take care of you? I'm sure their bedside manner is just excellent."

"Help me up."

The two stood shakily, Yang leaning on Sun. He looked over at her with concern. She seemed paler than usual, and her arm was bleeding profusely. He moved as carefully as he could to the edge of the roof, eyes dropping to the alley several dozen feet down.

"You still.. haven't said… where we're going," Yang said in a far-away tone. Sun swore inwardly. She was losing blood too quickly, but he couldn't risk going any faster for fear of causing further injury.

_Think, Sun. If you stay, she'll bleed out before too long. If you go, she might bleed out faster, or she might not._ Silencing the voice inside his head, he took the rest of Yang's weight upon himself and leapt nimbly across the gap between buildings, landing as gently as he could on the other side and heading off at the fastest pace he dared.

Yang, lucid as she was, found the strength to shoot a glance over her right shoulder at the column of smoke rising high into the evening sky. _Home,_ she thought before the world went dark again.

Sun felt Yang's weight slacken and picked up his pace, trying not to panic. The only place close enough was his own apartment, but there was too great a risk that the White Fang would simply follow him there and finish the job. But hadn't Yang said her aura had warned her that the Fang were watching her home? Sun hadn't felt any such disturbances… could it be safe?

"Fuck it," he said aloud under his breath. "No better option."

The rooftops blurred into a single grey mat as Sun and his passenger skated through the dusk. When he finally reached his home, Sun waited for a good minute while spreading his aura across the immediate area, searching for any sign of danger. Confident that he was safe, he dropped nimbly to the street with Yang still unconscious and headed inside.

Propping her up in his favorite armchair and leaving a mental note to buy bleach, Sun hurried to the kitchen and grabbed the emergency kit he kept under the sink, promising that he would thank his teacher back at Haven who had lectured them for weeks on end about the importance of knowing how to provide proper medical care. He was out of rubbing alcohol, and instead grabbed a bottle of tequila from the cabinet above his stove. Unstoppering the bottle, he splashed the clear liquid onto the wound and used a clean pad to mop away the excess blood before taking a hearty swig of the liquor for himself and leaning in to examine the wound more closely.

The skin around the wound was a mess, and in the dying light his night-vision kicked in. He could vaguely make out the shape of whatever was lodged in Yang's shoulder, and he bit his lip for several moments before grabbing a pair of oversized tweezers and steeling himself for what would come next.

Pinching the end of the object, he pressed a fresh gauze pad to the wound and apologized silently. Tugging gently at first but gradually gaining strength, Sun pulled until the object came loose. Hastily dropping the detritus in a bowl of water he had set aside, he leaned in with another splash of alcohol and gauze pad, pressing the latter tight to the wound and wrapping it several times in elastic bandage to hold it in place. Tearing the end of the bandage, he tied off the knot and sat back, checking to make sure he had done everything right.

Yang was still out like a light but her breathing was rhythmic, if shallow. Sun pressed the back of his hand to her forehead and noted how cold she felt before laying her down on her side, stretched across the couch, with her injured shoulder facing upward.

Grabbing a blanket, he laid the quilted cover over the sleeping brawler and sat back, breathing out a sigh of relief and, after a moment, taking another deep draft of the remaining tequila. His eyes drifted over to the bowl where the piece of shrapnel sat, barely floating. Upon closer examination, he realized that it was a piece of hardened plastic, used to build housings for containers and electronics, like older-style TV's and radios.

He returned his gaze to Yang and realized that the only clothes she had now were the ones on her back, and those were about as useful as nipples on a Boarbatusk. He shuttered all the blinds, switched off the lights and scribbled a quick note to leave on the coffee table in case Yang woke. Hurrying out the door and locking it behind him, Sun headed off to fulfill his errand. The latest of many in the last few days, it seemed.

* * *

Yang's dreams were haunted with black and violet shadows, amber fires and long streaks of dark, deep crimson. She was running, but her legs were not her own. They carried her body - lithe and deadly, but weary from toil and strife - across a landscape that shifted and stretched ever into the distance. Buildings and mountains rose and fell, trees scattering leaves like drops of blood on the wind burst into flame, columns of scarlet hellfire that sent her reeling. She kept running though.

The wind tore at her face and hair and whipped at her ankles, chasing her down. Was it truly the wind, or only the cruel embrace of a steely end that kept her moving?

In the distance there was a light. Faint, shimmering, indistinct. It didn't seem real at first; it was too good to be true. She was wary of it, but the fire was warm and bright and golden, and she knew that it would keep her safe. She rushed to its side and let it envelop her, keep her, protect her.

In the end though, the darkness caught up and washed over them both. It always did. She felt herself being torn from the fire's side, and though she screamed until her lungs were raw there was nothing to be done. Her valiant, brilliant spark flickered and died in an ocean of fear and regret.

Yang woke in a cold sweat. She bolted upright and immediately cried out at the searing pain in her shoulder, as though somebody had nailed her to the couch on which she lay. She heard a voice through the ringing in her ears, urging her to lay down - she was too weak. _Fuck you! _She thought. _I'm not too weak... never too weak... strongest...strong... for her..._

She blacked out again and though the dream of the light in the darkness did not return, she could still feel the cold steel chatter of teeth by her ear - fingers down her spine from the impenetrable void.

Her second waking was less violent. Her vision was blurry with tears and pain, and her shoulder burned and writhed where it connected to her arm, but she was alive. Her vision finally cleared and she saw Sun gazing back at her, perched on the far armrest of the couch, cross-legged. "Welcome back to the land of the living," he said in a cheery voice, ringed around the edges with genuine concern.

She went to speak and found herself trying to articulate through sandpaper. A crackling noise emanated from her throat and Sun flicked a cup of water her way and held it in place while she took slow, small sips at first. Then gulps. "Slow down," the other blond advised. "You'll-"

Yang broke into a fit of coughing and sputtering which caused her to lurch backwards. She felt her head strike something solid and swore violently as a crash echoed through the interior of the apartment. In the ensuing silence, Sun merely watched her. Finally, she managed "Not much of a welcome, seeing as you're still here."

She had meant it as a joke, and she was relieved when he interpreted it as such. The smile on the fair young man's features suited him far more than the grim expression he had been wearing the last couple of days. "Yeah well, I wasn't about to leave you when you're in a state like this."

He didn't mention that he had returned from his little foray to buy her some new clothes only to find her comatose on his couch. He didn't mention how he'd frozen in the doorway, fearing that all his work had been for naught, before realizing that standing around and staring wouldn't do her any good if she could still be helped. He didn't mention the frantic compressions or the panicked rescue breaths, or the tears of relief that he'd wept when her chest began to rise and fall of its own admonition once again.

No. She didn't need to know about how he'd felt when he realized that once again he'd lost someone he cared about. Not now. There was far too much to be done. Yang looked at the window and saw that it was dark outside. Made sense. She vaguely remembered that it had been evening when she and Sun were fleeing across the rooftops. "What time is it?" she asked, rubbing her eyes.

Sun grew visibly sheepish. "It's uh, three in the morning."

Yang raised her eyebrow again - a gesture she'd picked up from an old friend a long time ago. "You've stayed up with me all night?"

Another stupid smile played across Sun's face. "Yep. All night. And... the next day. And then two more."

Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "I've been unconscious for _three days?_" She shook her head in awe as the monkey Faunus nodded. "Shit," she muttered under her breath before, "Give me a hand up."

"Yang, I'm not sure that's a good idea, you..." _What?_ he asked himself. _Died? Thought you were avoiding that little tidbit._ "You took some hard knocks. You lost a lot of blood and..." He sighed when he saw she was already halfway on her feet. "Just take it slow, ok?" he said as he gave her a hand up.

She stood shakily but regained her composure and stretched mightily, a series of cracks and pops echoing throughout the apartment. She looked down and grimaced at the sight of her clothes - burned, riddled with holes and immodest even by Yang's standards. "Do you have a shower?" she asked. Sun nodded and gestured down a small hallway with doors on either side. She picked out the one on the left as a bathroom and stepped inside before stripping down.

She shut the door but heard Sun call from outside, "Be careful with your shoulder; I'll change the binding when you get out. I mean, I won't. You can do it and I can show you... no, I mean you can do it yourself. You don't need my help."

_Yeesh,_ Yang thought. _Who knew he was so sensitive?_ She chuckled under her breath and responded through the door as she switched on the shower. "Thanks Sun, but I trust your doctoring skills. I never paid much attention in the classes that taught us first-aid anyway."

_"I trust your doctoring skills." I let you die,_ he thought bitterly before nodding, realizing she couldn't see the gesture and wandering off to the kitchen to prepare a fresh treatment for Yang's wounds.

Ten minutes later she emerged from the bathroom, a billowing wave of steam announcing her exeunt. She had found the clean clothes that Sun had left sitting on the counter and she was wringing out her hair into a towel when he beckoned her over to the counter. She sat on a simple wooden stool and rotated to face him as Sun gathered up his tools before reaching for her shoulder and stopping short. Yang laughed.

"Jesus dude, with a reputation like yours I would've thought you'd be a little less hesitant. Pull down the fucking shirt already." He swallowed and did as he was bade, wondering himself why he was so modest today. The fabric shifted down, revealing the mess of damaged flesh around the wound in her shoulder.

Aura was a strange and wonderful thing he reflected as he gingerly removed the bindings around her shoulder. The skin around the wound had healed remarkably quickly, and no evidence remained of the cuts and scrapes that had all-but covered Yang's arms and legs. The wound itself was a different story. It had been a mistake to go so long without replacing the bandage; there was no infection but the wound hadn't healed as quickly as the rest of the flesh, leaving an angry red crevasse where the piece of hardened plastic had cut its bloody swath.

Yang winced and Sun apologized before preemptively doing so again. He had purchased medical-grade alcohol, and dabbed several splashes of the strong-smelling liquid onto a rag before beginning to clean out the wound yet again. Yang's eyes squinted tightly and her fingernails dug into the wooden countertop, but she bit her tongue and carried on.

When Sun was finished, he applied a much looser layer of dressing smeared with antibiotics and tapped on a carton sitting on the counter. "Try to avoid straining that arm too much. That is to say, not at all. If you really need it, these painkillers should help."

Yang nodded and stood, stretching her good arm and tenderly massaging the injured one. "Sun, I… I still haven't thanked you for helping me. First at the police station, then at the gym, and now this… keep it up and I'm going to owe you something."

"You don't owe me, Yang," he said distractedly as he packed away the medical supplies. "You needed help. I didn't do you a favor; I did what anybody would do in my place. Besides," he said cheerfully as he turned, smiling that same confident smile she had first seen on his face five years ago, when he leapt off the deck of a ship and took off into the city. "We're friends. Friends look out for eachother."

He patted her on the shoulder and went about his business, but Yang stood for a long time in the center of the room, her world spinning. _Friends,_ she thought distantly. _How long has it been since I've had friends?_

* * *

**AN - **Jeeeeeeeesus, sorry this took so damn long but this was a heavy chapter to put out - not just in terms of the content, but the fact that such an important (if mostly filler) chapter decided to fall right around the worst time of year for Al and I. Between Al wrapping up her testing and me getting ready to send my students home for the last time, it's been difficult to find the time to write. Still, hope you enjoyed.

As for the chapter itself, this was a difficult one to write because of all the complex emotions that went into it. It's really the first chapter where we begin to see the threads of Solar Flare binding this piece together, and I promise that all the little things that seemingly went unexplained in this chapter will come into play later on. I sometimes wonder if I'm a little too much like Roosterteeth themselves - making absolutely every little idea a Chekhov's Gun that doesn't pay off until the last minute. Al says I'm too worried about what people think. Whatever.

Now that life is calming down, we should be able to get chapters out a bit more frequently, and don't worry: for those of you waiting on a new chapter of "The Binding Force," it's on the way as well. Until then, be sure to drop by with a review on FF or Reddit and thanks for reading!


	5. Hunting Trip

**Hunting Trip**

**a LegionOfMisfits / Al_Hats collabfic**

**Chapter 5**

* * *

Yang's eyes reflected dully as she gazed out the glass windows into the busy city streets beyond. Everywhere, people hurried to and fro taking care of business. A lovely young couple strode by, laughing together in a way that told Yang they had met the night before. An older man struggled to carry a heavy box, but nobody came to his aid. A Faunus skulked, the hood he wore on a summer day doing little to disguise the ram's horns that sprouted from the sides of his skull.

She sighed and took another drink of her coffee, the bitter draught warming her insides. Not everything had changed while she'd been gone. People were still shitheads unless it suited them to be otherwise.

A chair ground its legs across the floor and Sun sat across the table from her, nursing a cup of tea and sighing as he ran a hand through his sandy mop of a haircut. "Sorry this is taking so long."

"Who exactly is this 'contact' of yours? And since when do you have contacts?"

The Faunus looked hurt. "'Contact' is just another word for friend. I've got lots of friends. In any case, he works for the SDC now, and was actually one of the people in charge of security a few years ago, back when trouble with the White Fang was still so high. I filled him in on as much as I dared, and he agreed to meet us here. He's late though, which isn't like him."

Yang sighed and took another sip of coffee before setting down the cup and running her fingers through a few trailing strands of hair. Ember Celica glinted in the sunlight on her wrists, the bracelets seeming to hum with nervous energy.

The bell over the door of the café chimed and Yang, whose back was to the door, perked up. Sun, without ever showing any hint of surprise, said "Don't turn around. He's here; let me do the talking."

"Like hell," she growled, forcing her eyes ahead. "Your house didn't get blown up."

"Yang, Taupe is reliable but he can be a bit... neurotic." He shut his mouth as an unassuming man in an unseasonably heavy brown coat sat in the booth just behind Sun. He called over a server and ordered an espresso before settling back against the wall of his booth, tugging anxiously at the collar of his jacket.

"Bit too deep into the summer to be wearing a coat like that, don't you think, friend?" Sun took a sip of his tea after addressing the question, his tone utterly neutral.

"I'm a man of warmer climates," the man returned, voice placid.

Sun smiled. _"Challenge and counter,"_ he mouthed and Yang nodded. "Glad you could make it, Taupe."

"As am I. If what you said is true, then there's a lot at stake here. Sorry I couldn't make it sooner, but I couldn't afford to take chances with a matter as sensitive as this." He scratched his face nervously and Yang found herself growing subconsciously irritated with this informant's tick.

"It's alright, Taupe," Sun said, drinking slowly from his tea. "What can you do to help us?"

"To be honest Sun, this is a lot to take in. If you're right, then the Fang have come back and even I haven't heard of it. This is big, and they're moving again..."

"Calm down, Taupe, and just tell us what you can."

Another nervous tick before the mole continued. "I did some digging, and found something disturbing. Sun, this isn't news to everybody. The public has heard nothing of the Fang in years - not since Adam Taurus was killed, but the SDC… they're well aware that the White Fang is not totally disbanded."

"What?!" Yang burst out, feeling hot rage boiling up from within. The Schnee Dust Company… Weiss Schnee… they _knew?!_ "How long have they known about this? Why haven't they done something?"

"Yang!" Sun hissed before she cut him off.

"No, Sun, I want to hear the answer to this one. If the SDC really do know about the Fang and haven't told anybody, they've crossed a fucking line."

"Yang, I'm not happy about this either, but keep your voice down unless you want to cause a panic. The words 'white' and 'fang' in the same sentence still bring back a lot of painful memories for this city."

Reluctantly, the blonde brawler balled her hands into fists and drained what little liquid was left in her cup. Sun sat back in his chair, speaking to Taupe again. "Taupe, please, this is important. People have already been hurt by the White Fang, but anything you can tell us would help prevent that from happening again."

There was a nervous buzz in the air as the informant considered before sighing. "Sun I... I want to help, truly I do, but what I've found... look, I still owe you for helping me out all those years ago - giving me a chance to get to where I am now, but this is _big._ Big and dangerous to anyone who gets involved. I don't want you to get dragged into the middle of it and-"

"Taupe," Yang said, addressing the informant by his name for the first time. "I respect your not wanting us to get hurt, but these people have struck against us - against _me_ personally. We need you to trust that we can handle this information with care and take care of ourselves, because unless these guys are brought down soon, people are just going to keep getting hurt until they get what they want. That's who they are."

Taupe was silent for a long moment and Yang noticed something in the way Sun regarded her from there on. Finally, Taupe sighed in the booth, rubbing his temples with his hands.

"The SDC isn't willingly keeping this information hidden; they know that revealing that the Fang is still active will cause a panic, or worse, an organized military response. Right now they're probing as carefully as they dare - trying to determine the Fang's leadership, motives and future plans, but they can't pry too hard or the remaining Fang will spook and go to ground again. They've been disorganized and disoriented since Taurus' death five years ago, but they're rallying again, though behind who and for what purpose, nobody knows.

"As for the White Fang operation in Vale... all I know is what little White Fang activity is still going on in Vale is probably run out of an old compound on the fringes of Forever Fall. Used to be a break-of-bulk point for SDC Dust shipments coming in from the mines up north, but it closed down a few years ago after White Fang raids on the trains got too frequent to ignore. Sun, whoever you are, _please,_ be careful. You don't know these people."

"I know the White Fang," Yang said through gritted teeth. She bit back the rage boiling inside her. _Call us liars, degenerates and killers._

"Not like I do," Taupe countered before standing and stretching. He walked brusquely out of the shop, without so much as a word of goodbye. Sun watched out the window as the heavily-bundled figure made his way down the street and out of sight.

Yang turned to the Faunus and raised an eyebrow, the anger at the unwilling memories subsiding slowly. "What did Taupe mean when he said he knows the Fang better than us? And what exactly did you do for him years ago that indebted him to you?"

Sun gazed out the window a lot longer, his tea cooling in front of him. Finally, he sighed. "Taupe is a Faunus. He... used to be a member of the White Fang."

She felt the rage return, unbidden. "You mean we trusted a-"

"Calm down, Yang, I said he used to be. I got him out of that life years ago, as a favor to his little sister. She and I grew up together in Vacuo, and when she found out who he had joined up with she... anyway, he left with my help and joined the SDC - the information he had gathered over the years helped level the playing field between the Schnees and the Fang. Some of the most successful operations carried out by the SDC and the military against the White Fang were coordinated by Taupe.

"Yang, I wouldn't have trusted him with this unless I knew he was reliable. If Taupe says that the White Fang are based at this old train station, then you can bet that they are. Now, come on," he said, finishing his tea in a single gulp. "We have a stakeout to prepare for."

* * *

They reached the ridge overlooking the old station shortly before dusk. The sun was setting slowly and turned the forest of Forever Fall into an ocean of blood. Silhouetted against the dark trunks of the trees in the valley below was a squat, aging compound - devoid of all signs of life.

Yang swore as she scanned over the huddle of buildings through a pair of binoculars, lying on her stomach in the crackly grass a few hundred meters from the edge of the forest. "Nothing. Looks like your friend Taupe wasn't as reliable as you thought."

He shook his head. "I refuse to believe it. He wouldn't have sent us here unless he trusted that-"

His speech was interrupted as the distant sound of engines reached his ears and he huddled closer to the ground, hissing for Yang to do the same. As they lay motionless, Sun slowly took the binoculars and gazed back out at the compound. In the evening light, half a dozen headlights cut a swath through the dusky gloom as they spiraled down the aging service road to the cluster of warehouses and offices. They stopped before the largest of the buildings, a large group of men and women in civilian clothing emerging from the cars.

"Lookie here," Sun chimed, passing the binoculars to her. "They're Faunus," he said, tasting the wind that blew from the forest up the cliff face to them. "All of them. Except…" His brow furrowed and he squinted. "Hold on a sec." He took the binoculars back and focused on the one who smelled undeniably human in a crowd of Faunus. He was dressed like the rest - plain clothes and an unassuming physical figure. He was a little shorter than the tallest of the Faunus, and his forest-green hair clung close to his skull in a net of curls. He checked over his shoulder but not nervously and followed the Faunus into the nearest building.

"Who the hell is that?" he wondered aloud as Yang snatched the binoculars and focused in.

"Who?"

"The tall guy with green hair. He's human."

She scowled. "Another human working with the Fang? This shit just keeps getting more and more fucked by the day." She watched as the man spoke briefly to a red-clad bear Faunus who had emerged from the cluster of buildings. A pair of lackeys came forward with a heavy case and she struggled to see the contents as the green-haired man examined whatever they were carefully. Nodding, apparently satisfied, he beckoned to one of the Faunus who had emerged from the cars with him. The young woman he called forth brought a heavy duffel bag from the back of the middle car and showed it to the Faunus in red.

"Looks like some kind of a deal," she said, struggling to make out more detail. Realizing it was futile, she handed Sun the binoculars and stood. "I need to get a closer look."

"Yang, I wouldn't do that," Sun said cautiously as he looked through the spyglasses again. "We don't know enough yet to-"

He found himself interrupted again, this time by the click of a weapon. Lowering the binoculars slowly, he turned to see Yang standing - hands in the air - at the point of a pistol held by a muscular man with ashen hair.

"Miss me, sweetcheeks?" he asked Yang.

She sneered. "Yours ugly mug isn't an easy face to forget, Haron."

"Yang, you know this guy?" Sun asked as he slowly went to rise. Haron's other hand came up, revealing a second firearm trained on Sun.

"Wouldn't do that if I were you, monkey-boy."

"Yeah," Yang said through gritted teeth. "We've met. You want something or are you just gonna stand there and look pretty with those peashooters of yours?"

He _tsked_, smiling a wicked smile that never came close to his eyes. "Now now Yang, no need to be so hostile."

Yang scoffed, eyes already scanning for a way out of this situation. "Last time I saw you, you tried to put a hole in my skull, so forgive me if I'm not exactly civil."

"Aw come on, there's no excuse for poor manners." The guns clicked again as Haron adjusted his aim, the muzzles never wavering from Yang and Sun's centers of mass. "Gotta say, Yang, never figured you'd be one to be so careless with your plans. That little mole of yours seemed awful surprised when I showed up at his door, asking about you. He didn't say much... at first." His smile dripped with malice and Sun's eyes blazed.

"What have you done to Taupe, you son of a bitch?!"

"Ah ah ah, keep your voice down, pal, wouldn't want to alert those nice folks down there and ruin all the fun, now would we?"

Sun stood slowly, defiant of Haron's orders. There was no fear or uncertainty in his eyes. Only cold, calculating hatred. "So help me, if you have laid a finger on Taupe, I'll personally see that you're shipped back to wherever you came from in so many pieces, they'll need to pull your fucking teeth to figure out that it's you."

Haron whistled softly. "Big talk. Sadly, we're going to have to wait to have that little play date. For now, you're going to stay here and Yang is coming with me."

"Not in your wildest dreams, asshole," she snorted, "I'm not some chip you can cash in with the White Fang."

"You think this is about money anymore? Sure, maybe at the start, but you've gone a step beyond that, bitch. You and your little friend here decided to make a fool of me in front of people who aren't exactly keen on keeping loose ends untied. If I hand you to them on a silver platter, they _might_ let me keep my head. Now, enough talk. We've got some walking to do."

"Already told you, Haron. Not today." She flinched and Haron's gun barked, the round skating by and rippling her aura as she twisted her body to the side. Ember Celica ground into form and she propelled herself forward with a burst of aura, left fist soaring towards Haron's smug face. The mercenary sidestepped the blow almost effortlessly, slamming his knee into Yang's ribs. She brought her hand up and caught Haron's next attack, flinging him backwards. As he turned in midair though, the grey-haired fighter writhed in midair and delivered a kick which threw Yang backwards over the cliff face.

She rolled through the air, using short bursts of aura to soften the blows every time she struck the rocky ground. As she landed shakily on her feet, she heard a click and looked up to see a large group of Faunus in civilian garb staring her down, weapons at the ready.

"When I said I wanted a closer look, I didn't fucking mean _this._" One of the Fang called out to her from behind the muzzle of his rifle and she shook her head before rocketing forward with a pulse of aura, fist sending the nearest extremist flying. She fired a blast from her left gauntlet, the recoil slamming her elbow into another man's gut as her right side produced a blast of buckshot that threw a rat Faunus backwards, his aura coughing and sputtering under the sudden onslaught.

She ducked under a sword stroke and balanced on her left side as her right leg kicked heartily into the stomach of another rifleman. She raised both gauntlets into an X to block another swing from a heavy axe before wrenching the weapon from his grip and slamming the blunt head into his temple. He crumpled and she wheeled, searching for another foe. Automatic fire raked the ground around her and she rolled out of the way, firing a few bursts of ineffectively close-range shot toward her attackers.

Out the corner of her eye, she saw a group of Faunus escort the green-haired human and his shiny new case into one of the vehicles. She started toward the car - intent of stopping it and getting the answers she needed - but was stonewalled by a trio of White Fang, the center of whom hit her full-force in the chest with a shotgun blast.

It felt like she had been kicked by a horse, her aura shimmering brighter and brighter in protest to the beating, and her vision swam as she avoided another cluster of Dust-propelled metal bearings. She slammed the shotgunner into one of his comrades and sent both screaming away with a dropkick before they reached the ground. Her left hand wheeled around as she pivoted on her foot and delivered a jolt haymaker to the remaining Fang, the unfortunate armadillo Faunus creating a small crater as she fell.

She swore loudly as she looked up and saw that the green-haired human's car was already a quarter mile down the road, burning rubber desperately. _Run away then. One way or another, I'll get my answers._

Up the sheer face of the bluff, Sun was facing his own set of problems. Haron landed nimbly after sending Yang hurtling over the edge and through the rage, Sun found the ability to draw Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang from his belt, the staff snapping out into full form. With a cry of outrage, he launched himself at the bounty hunter.

Haron squeezed off a shot from one pistol before the Hunter-forged staff smashed the sidearm to pieces. Haron threw aside his second pistol and slammed his left fist into the red-plated gauntlet that Sun wore over the top of his sleeve. Sun pushed Haron back and pivoted, both of his feet soaring past his opponent as Haron leaned back.

Haron countered quickly, lunging forward and wrapping his arm around Sun's as he attempted to wrestle the Faunus' weapon from his grasp. Ruyi Bang and Jingu Bang separated at the touch, and Sun tore himself away before swinging both the nunchaku around at his foe. Haron ducked under the first swing but took the one second heartily, his aura flashing like a nova as a bang emanated through the dying light - a blast from Jingu Bang striking him fully. He staggered, giving Sun enough time to press his attack.

The pair danced on top of the cliff; ducking, swinging and blocking strike after strike. The bounty hunter succeeded in wrestling Sun's weapons away from him, leveling the playing field as the contest became a test of martial skill alone.

Sun twisted under Haron's nimble attempt at a grab and jabbed him twice - first with his elbow and then again with his off-hand. Haron spun, seemingly unphased, and leapt into the air, his balance impeccable as he delivered two quick bicycle kicks to Sun's exposed torso. Reeling, the Faunus rolled out of the way of the follow-up and dove for his weapon.

His fingers were inches from Ruyi Bang when Haron's boot-clad heel smashed into the ground where his fingers had been milliseconds earlier. He backpedalled and leapt up to his feet just in time to catch a few jabs from Haron the Huntsman following up with an uppercut that threw the mercenary backwards.

"What's your stake in all this?" Haron asked, not even sounding winded as he and Sun circled warily. "You don't owe her anything; you have no duty to protect her or help her. Just stand aside."

Sun sneered. "Not a fucking chance. I wouldn't expect you to understand, but I look out for the people I care about - for my friends."

He saw something change in Haron's expression then, the fighter's silver eyes glinting behind his merciless gaze. "Ah. So that's it." He smirked and shot a quick glance over the side of the cliff to where Yang was mopping up the last of the White Fang. Noticing the momentary distraction, Sun lunged forward before reeling back, blood streaming from his nose after Haron slammed his shoulder bodily into the Huntsman's face. He clamped a hand over the bridge of his nose, pinching sharply as Haron mock-saluted and leapt off. Standing, Sun rushed to the edge, expecting to see the mercenary engaging Yang but there was only the blonde warrior, her foot planted on the chest of one of the grunts. His eyes scanned for Haron, but the bounty hunter was already long-gone.

* * *

He approached Yang slowly, fingers still pinched tight on the bridge of his nose as the blonde woman stood over the prone form of a coyote Faunus.

"I don't know!" he managed to cough before a little extra applied pressure forced him into a fit of coughing and wheezing.

"Don't believe you. You were standing right there; you had to see something. Now tell me what it was and I'll let you go!"

"Crazy bi-ACK, gah, ah..."

"Yang," Sun said quietly through his pinched nostrils. She turned and her eyes widened at the sight of him - face and shirt stained crimson as he held his fist tight against his nose.

"Jesus Sun, what the fuck?"

He waved his free hand dismissively. "It's nothing. Are you alrught?"

"Am _I_ alright? You're not exactly looking hot yourself; what'd you lose a fight with some mook with a brick? And where's Haron?"

He shook his head. "Haron got away and gave me this to remember him by. It doesn't matter; I've had worse. Get anything useful out of him?" he said, jerking a finger to the prone Faunus.

Yang shook her head. "Claims he doesn't know anything, though I'm not buying it. He was ten feet away from that green-haired bastard when they swapped the briefcases. That fucker got away from me, but this one isn't going anywhere." She kicked the Faunus in the ribs to make her point and took her other foot off his chest, leaving him to curl into the fetal position and sputter for a moment while she brushed a stray strand of blonde hair out of the corner of her mouth. Her eyes were their normal lilac, but Sun could see the scarlet that ringed the edges.

"We'll get them Yang. Keep an eye on him, I want to check something." He took his hand away from his nose and waited, nodding in satisfaction when no further blood flowed down his face. He walked stiffly over to the place where numerous tracks in the grass denoted a recent bustle of feet and knelt, feeling around. Scents assaulted him from all around through his clotted nose - a dozen species of Faunus and one human. He traced the human's scent back to a well-trodden part of the turf and pause for a moment, deep in thought.

Something caught his eye and he leaned over, hands sifting through the soft grass, wrapping his fingers around something amidst the shamrock blades. He brought it closer to his face and realized what it was, swearing softly in wonder and considering what it meant.

"Find something?" Yang called. Sun stood and turned, holding up the object and walking back over. He extended his hand, revealing to Yang exactly what he had found. A cartridge; Dust, custom-forged with a stamp that neither of them recognized.

"This was lying in the grass near where the exchange went down." He knelt by the White Fang member, brandishing the ammunition. "You recognize this? What is it?"

The man looked confused. "A… a bullet? Look, I don't know what you think I know but… I don't know it! Just let me go and-"

Yang cuffed him upside the head, sending him sprawling again. "Shut the hell up, dirtbag. We're not stupid; you were standing _right there._ Make this easier on yourself and quit stalling!"

He looked between the two of them, fear evident in his eyes through the slits of his mask. "I… look, I need to think about myself here; if I tell you anything, I'm a dead man, along with everyone I've ever known. These people… you don't know them!"

Sun cocked an eyebrow. "So you do know something," he observed. "Listen pal, no matter what these guys can do to you, I promise you we can do worse. Maybe we don't want to, but if it means saving lives you don't have a damn clue how far we'll go."

The extremist was already shaking his head before SUn finished. "And you don't have a damn clue who you're messing with."

Sun sighed, rubbing his eyes with a bloody hand tiredly. "Come on Yang, we're not getting anything from him or any of this lot." She was dumbstruck.

"We're not just going to let these scumbags get away with this, are we? Sun-"

"No, Yang, we're not. I'm just as anxious to get to the bottom of this as you are, especially now that we've seen that something is going on. We need to get to the bottom of this," he said, indicating the cartridge in his hands. "That's our next step."

She sighed, shoulders slumping. Dusk was falling rapidly and her hair seemed to smolder as it framed her face, eyes fading back to their usual color as the light died. "So where do we start?"

Sun smiled for the first time, a grotesque sight through the blood, but a welcome one after the pitched battle.

"I think I have an idea."

* * *

**AN - **And that wraps up part 5! Again, sorry it took so long to get out. Before we talk about the story itself, I need to clarify some things about the writing schedule for the next few chapters.

I got a letter the other day from an old friend of mine. He's been going through a rough time recently and I've come to the decision that I'm going to go and give him some help, whatever that entails. This, of course, means that I'm going to be in the Congo for the next few months. To this end, Al_Hats is going to be taking over primary proprietorship of the series, though she'll still be corresponding with me for editorial and revisional purposes.

On a lighter note, what'd you guys think?! First taste of real action in a while, Haron's return, the reveal of our new enigmatic enemy… the wheels are turning quickly, and I'm really excited to get these next few chapters out as they get us into the real meat of the story.

Hope you all enjoyed, and I will note that my absence will also mean that "The Binding Force" will be going on an indefinite hiatus. Don't worry though; I still have plans for that story as well. Until we meet again, please leave a review and feel free to favorite and follow this story. Lots of good things to come. Thanks for reading!


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